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Set along the banks of the meandering River Avon, Stratford-upon-Avon is a market town with Anglo-Saxon roots best known as the birthplace of William Shakespeare. Its streets are lined with thatched cottages and higgledy-piggledy half-timbered Tudor houses. Fashionable restaurants and boutiques serve the affluent residents, and swans and rowing boats glide down the river.

The town’s connection to the world's most famous playwright eclipses everything else however. William Shakespeare was born in Stratford-upon-Avon in 1564 and lived there for most of his life, although he spent a lot of time in London. His birthplace, school and grave can all be visited, along with various other properties associated with the dramatist or his family.

The town's landmark attraction is Shakespeare’s Birthplace, a restored half-timbered house where the Bard was born and raised. The house is laid out in a style typical of the time, with costumed guides bringing tales of Shakespeare's family to life. A wide-ranging exhibition delves into every aspect of Shakespeare's life, and professional actors recite celebrated scenes from his works.

Shakespeare attended the prestigious local grammar school, King Edward VI School. You can visit his former classroom, which is set in a large, black-and-white timbered building dating from 1420. Inside, actors give lessons in a Tudor fashion and offer insights into Shakespeare's early life and influences. The building also originally acted as the town's guildhall.

Nearby is the 12th-century Church of the Holy Trinity, where Shakespeare was both baptized and buried. The handsome riverside church has many later additions, including an 18th-century spire, stained-glass windows and elaborately decorated wall tombs, but the main reason to visit is to see the modest final resting place of Shakespeare and his wife, Anne, who are interred in the chancel.

The Royal Shakespeare Company dedicates itself to performing the Bard’s plays as well as those of his contemporaries and modern playwrights. You can watch the company perform in its main auditorium, the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, which sits on the west bank of the River Avon. Major stars often ply the stage in the regular performances of Shakespeare's works and high-caliber contemporary productions.

You can learn about the history and inner workings of the auditorium on a tour, explore the Royal Shakespeare Company Gallery to see displays of props and costumes, or visit the adjacent Swan Theatre, an 'in-the-round' performance space based on Elizabethan designs.

There are many other historic buildings around Stratford-upon-Avon that are associated with the playwright, including the bucolic Anne Hathaway's Cottage, just west of the town, which was the childhood home of his wife.

Mary Arden's Farm, Shakespeare’s mother's childhood home, contains a museum of country life, his daughter Susanna's house, Hall's Croft, has a display on Elizabethan medical practice, and Nash's House, where Shakespeare's granddaughter Elizabeth lived, houses an exhibition on the town's history.