Holidaying in Stratford upon Avon is not just enough, as you can travel to the neighboring village of Wilmcote, which is home to Shakespeare's mother Mary Arden. Just around Stratford is his wife, Anne Hathaway's cottage. If you are done with visiting cottages and farmhouses belonging to Shakespeare, you may as well like to visit the renowned Royal Shakespeare Company, which is also branded as the ?world's leading classical theatre company?. This theatre company produces a host of Shakespearean plays along with new plays and plays by Shakespeare's contemporaries. Catch up with a play here, which is performed by some of the fabulous actors.



Once you are through with the magic of history, you may hop in to the pubs and restaurants to have some fun. ?Fox Inn? the local pub provides best quality cask ales and seafood. Riverside boasts of floral exhibitions and a Friday market, which speaks volume about the culture of the historical town. You can shop from the nearby stalls and collect memoirs for your loved ones. Your holiday is incomplete without Stratford Races and open top bus tour around the city of the bard. The river has a beautiful setting and so you can enjoy your evenings boating on the river Avon and experience the delight of sunset.

It is a whole gamut of fun and ecstasy in a Stratford upon Avon holiday. The monuments, the river and the public life ? all of these are just so rich and vibrant. Not just for the old, kids can have a great time visiting the Shire horse center, Teddy Bear Museum and Butterfly farm. Another special attraction is the renowned Ragdoll shop, where you can have unlimited fun. There are many hotels where you can put up during your stay. All these will make your holiday a memorable one.

Stratford has Anglo-Saxon origins, and grew up as a market town in medieval times. The name is a fusion of the Old English, meaning "street", and ford, meaning that a Roman road forded the River Avon at the site of the town.

Stratford is also close to the Cotswolds, with Chipping Campden 10 miles (16 km) to the south. As a major sheep producing area (William Shakespeare's father, John Shakespeare, bought and sold sheep's wool illegally) the Cotswolds, up until the latter part of the 19th century, regarded Stratford as one of its main centres for the slaughter, marketing, and distribution of sheep and wool. As a consequence Stratford also became a centre for tanning during the 15th?17th centuries. Both the river and the Roman road served as trade routes for the town.

Had a mass German invasion occurred during World War II, the town would have become the temporary seat of Parliament, and hosted many state servants.