3 Best Sights in Stratford-upon-Avon and the Heart of England, England

Of the 20,000 courtyards of back-to-back houses (houses that quite literally back onto each other) built in the 19th century for the city’s expanding working-class population, this is the only survivor. Three houses tell the stories of families (a clockmaker, locksmith, and glass-eye maker were among the residents) who lived in these charming properties, which were rescued from decay by the National Trust and opened as a heritage site. Each of the properties is decorated for a different period in the courtyard’s history, from the outdoor privies to the long johns hanging over the bedstead.  Admission is by guided tour only, which must be booked in advance. Allow at least one hour for the tour and be prepared for steep stairs; ground-floor tours are available for those with limited mobility.

The 14th-century half-timber Lord Leycester Hospital at Warwick's Norman gate is a genuine hidden gem: it has effectively been a retirement home for soldiers since Robert Dudley, the Earl of Leicester, dedicated it to that purpose in 1571. The complex includes a 12th-century chapel, an impressive beamed hall, and a fine courtyard with a wattle-and-daub balcony and 500-year-old gardens. A major refurbishment has added many more hands-on activities and interpretations of the historic rooms. One highlight of a visit is a tour with one of the "brethren" guides dressed in Elizabethan robes (Wednesday and Saturday only). Don't miss lunch in the timber-beamed Great Hall.

Dating from the early 15th century, this is where a young Shakespeare went to school and where he was allegedly first introduced to the world of theater. Once the administrative center of the town, it now serves as a heritage center where visitors can see medieval wall paintings, including two of the oldest surviving Tudor roses in England, plus take part in a lesson in the room where Shakespeare was taught. Visitors can don period costumes and try writing with a pen and quill. In the 16th century, the Guildhall was where the city council once sat, including John Shakespeare, Shakespeare’s father, who was town mayor in the 1560s. Around this time it also became home to the King’s New School, and shortly afterward William Shakespeare attended as a pupil. On the first floor is the Guildhall proper, where traveling acting companies performed to obtain their licenses. Many historians believe that it was after seeing the troupe known as the Earl of Leicester’s Men in 1587 that Shakespeare got the acting bug and set off for London.