Stratford Upon Avon

Shall I compare thee to a summer's day? 

Thou art more lovely and more temperate:

Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,

And summer's lease hath all too short a date: 

Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,

And often is his gold complexion dimm'd; 

And every fair from fair sometime declines,

By chance, or nature's changing course, untrimm'd;

But thy eternal summer shall not fade

Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow'st;

Nor shall Death brag thou wander'st in his shade,

When in eternal lines to time thou grow'st; 

So long as men can breathe or eyes can see,

So long lives this, and this gives life to thee. 

Yes, that’s Shakespeare 18th sonnet. No, I wasn’t a big fan of the Sonnet nor Shakespeare until this handsome looking man at Shakespeare’s birthplace recited it for me.
What-a-day !!

Stratford- The town so pretty and historic, the birthplace of William Shakespeare, it makes you want to do something in life too.

The first thing I learned about Stratford is that it’s extremely pretty but also very touristy. The second thing I learned even quicker was that it has Shakespeare everywhere. He can be found in every café, room, road, street, church, bank, washrooms even!

So you might choose to start from Shakespeare’s birthplace which is where you can also buy a ticket (house pass) to avail entry to the 5 key spots in the town. Remember, students get a discount, so carry your college ID’s. Each adult ticket costs approximately 26 Pounds and it’s cheaper if you purchase it online.
Link: https://www.shakespeare.org.uk/visit/plan-your-visit/annual-pass-prices/

If you’re not keen on visiting all 5 houses, then you can buy individual house tickets as well, but I strongly recommend to do the entire tour because it’s not too hectic and very informative.
All the below places are open from 9 am to 5.30 pm, so make sure you plan your trip well.

• Shakespeare’s birthplace: This is where the story began. Walk into his house where he was born and walk his family life through the events and artifacts preserved.

• Shakespeare’s New Place : New place was bought by Shakespeare when he was 32 in 1597 and he lived the rest of his life there. 
• Mary Arden’s Farm: Discover the childhood home of Shakespeare’s mother. Experience the sights, sounds and smells of a working farm on a fantastic family day out. Meet the Tudors who run the farm just as Shakespeare’s mother would have done.

• Anne Hathaway’s Cottage: Anne Hathaway's Cottage is a twelve-roomed farmhouse where Anne Hathaway, the wife of William Shakespeare, lived as a child

• Halls Croft: This was the place where Shakespeare’s daughter Susanna Hall, and her husband Dr John Hall lived. The building is essentially a collection of 16th- and 17th-century paintings and furniture. John and Susanna Hall later moved to New Place, which William Shakespeare left to his daughter after his death.

Because after all the touristy tiredness, you want to serve yourself a treat – walk in to the Magic Alley store to witness some very Harry-Potterish tricks and sip some really chilled bubble tea.

In short, if you like Shakespeare, then you owe yourself a visit to Stratford-upon-Avon, the town where it's all Shakespeare all the time. But if you don't like Shakespeare, then, well, this might not be the place for you.