What to See in Stratford-upon-Avon, United Kingdom: Free Audio Guide

The best things to do in Stratford-upon-Avon include visiting Shakespeare’s Birthplace, exploring Tudor buildings and seeing the Royal Shakespeare Theatre beside the River Avon. The town brings together literary history, medieval and Tudor architecture, museums and riverside landmarks in a compact setting. Neywo has a free audio guide for Stratford-upon-Avon with 40 narrated places.

What to see in Stratford-upon-Avon

Shakespeare’s Birthplace

On Henley Street, Shakespeare’s Birthplace is a restored sixteenth-century house believed to be where William Shakespeare was born in 1564 and spent his childhood. Its half-timbered structure, filled with wattle and daub, reflects the Tudor style of the period.

The house once combined family life with the business of Shakespeare’s father, John, who worked with gloves, leather and wool. Inside, the modest rooms, low doors, fireplaces and flagstone ground floor give a sense of the scale and character of a substantial Tudor dwelling.

Guild Chapel of the Holy Cross

The Guild Chapel of the Holy Cross stands on Church Street, opposite the site of Shakespeare’s home, New Place. Founded in the thirteenth century by the Guild of the Holy Cross, it was expanded in 1496 after Hugh Clopton paid for major building work and presented murals.

The chapel also reveals the impact of the Reformation on Stratford-upon-Avon. Its murals were ordered to be removed and were whitewashed, with John Shakespeare—William’s father—among those paid for this work. The paintings were uncovered again in the 1950s, and the chapel underwent restoration between 1954 and 1983. Inside, the restored mural known as the Doom stands over the chancel.

Nash’s House and New Place

Nash’s House is a Grade I listed Tudor dwelling built around 1500, beside the ruins and gardens of New Place, Shakespeare’s final home. The museum explores local history as well as Shakespeare’s life as a father, husband, Stratford resident and writer.

The house takes its name from Thomas Nash, who married Elizabeth Shakespeare, Shakespeare’s granddaughter, in 1626. Its rooms contain Tudor, Elizabethan and Jacobean furnishings, including period furniture, tapestries and engravings. Together, Nash’s House and the remains of New Place provide a more domestic perspective on Shakespeare’s family and later life.

Hall’s Croft

A short distance from New Place, Hall’s Croft is a Tudor timber-framed house associated with Susanna Shakespeare, William Shakespeare’s daughter, and her husband, Doctor John Hall. They married in 1607 and moved into the house around 1613 to 1615.

The Grade I listed building contains paintings from the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, fine furniture and collections connected with the life and medicine of the Hall family. Its flagstone floor was also a sign of wealth: stone floors were considered a status symbol when many homes had earthen floors. A walled garden completes the visit.

Holy Trinity Church

Holy Trinity Church is known as Shakespeare’s Church because William Shakespeare was baptized and buried there. Dating from 1210 and built on the site of an earlier Saxon monastery, it is Stratford-upon-Avon’s oldest building.

The church’s Gothic character reflects its medieval origins. Details inside include a fourteenth-century porch knocker, more than twenty carved misericord seats in the chancel, the American Window in Saint Peter’s Chapel, and copies of Shakespeare’s baptismal and burial certificates. The church also contains the tomb of Dean Thomas Balshall, who rebuilt it in 1491.

Royal Shakespeare Theatre

Beside the River Avon, the Royal Shakespeare Theatre is owned by the Royal Shakespeare Company and dedicated to Shakespeare and his work. The building incorporates the smaller Swan Theatre, creating a major theatrical centre in Shakespeare’s birthplace.

The main auditorium seats more than 1,040 people and uses a thrust stage, with the audience surrounding the performers on three sides. The present theatre emerged from the Transformation Project. The Royal Shakespeare and Swan Theatres reopened in November 2010 after extensive renovation, and the Royal Shakespeare Theatre was officially opened in March 2011 by Queen Elizabeth the Second and Prince Philip.

The building also represents an earlier chapter in the town’s theatrical history: the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre once stood at the heart of the development that led to today’s complex.

Gower Memorial

In Bancroft Gardens, the Gower Memorial pays tribute to William Shakespeare. Shakespeare sits at the centre of the monument, surrounded by Hamlet, Lady Macbeth, Prince Hal and Falstaff.

Created in 1888 by Lord Ronald Gower, the memorial forms part of a larger Shakespeare Memorial complex near the River Avon. The four surrounding figures represent philosophy, tragedy, history and comedy, reflecting the range of Shakespeare’s work.

American Fountain

Also known as the Shakespeare Memorial Fountain and Clock Tower, the American Fountain combines a Gothic clock tower with a roundabout fountain. It was established in 1887 to mark Queen Victoria’s jubilee and given to Stratford-upon-Avon by George Childs, a newspaper magnate from Philadelphia.

The tower has three stages with arches, recessed details and carvings of flowers and fruit. Its upper section includes clocks within gables and figures of Puck, Mustard Seed, Pea-blossom and Cobweb. Inscriptions and quotations from Shakespeare’s plays connect the structure directly with the town’s literary heritage.

Anne Hathaway’s Cottage

In Shottery, Anne Hathaway’s Cottage is a twelve-room former farmhouse associated with Anne Hathaway, who lived there as a child before becoming Shakespeare’s wife. The name can be misleading: this is a substantial home, not a small cottage.

The oldest part dates from before the fifteenth century, while taller sections were added in the seventeenth century. Visible timber framing, spacious rooms, several bedrooms and numerous chimneys reveal its Tudor domestic character. The property was known as Hewlands Farm during Shakespeare’s time and was connected with more than 90 acres of land.

Tudor World

Tudor World, on Sheep Street, offers an atmospheric look at everyday life in the Tudor period. The museum occupies a building with low ceilings, exposed beams and uneven floors, creating a strong sense of the past.

Its experiences include a walking tour featuring William Shakespeare and an evening ghost tour led by a lantern-carrying guide. The museum is also designed as an interactive visit, with other experiences connected with Tudor life and the building’s history.

The MAD Museum

The MAD Museum—short for Mechanical Art and Design—focuses on movement, engineering and kinetic art. Its interactive creations include pinball machines and imaginative inventions inspired by the world of Wallace and Gromit.

Visitors are encouraged to press buttons and explore the mechanisms. Artists and inventors from around the world contribute to the exhibitions, while the museum’s aim is to help children discover the links between engineering, art and design.

Explore Stratford-upon-Avon with a self-guided audio tour

A Stratford-upon-Avon self-guided walking tour lets you explore the town without joining a group or following a fixed schedule. Neywo offers two walking tours, with 2.7 km of routes and 17 narrated stops in total:

• In Shakespeare’s Footsteps: Birthplace to Burial — 1.57 km, 86 minutes and 10 stops, including Shakespeare’s Birthplace, Harvard House, the Guild Chapel of the Holy Cross, Nash’s House, Hall’s Croft and Holy Trinity Church.
• Along the Avon: Theatres, Chain Ferry and Clopton Bridge — 1.13 km, 50 minutes and 7 stops, including the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, The Other Place, the Stratford-upon-Avon chain ferry, Stratford Butterfly Farm and Clopton Bridge.

The Neywo app tells the story of each place as you reach it, at your own pace, with no group and no schedule. The narration is available in 11 languages. Download Neywo and explore Stratford-upon-Avon through its Shakespearean landmarks, theatrical history and riverside sights.

If you are exploring more of England, you can also discover other destinations across the United Kingdom.