Stratford, CA

Stratford's liveliest downtown room in a heritage building — a craft beer hall with the city's biggest tap selection and an Izakaya-influenced menu of dumplings, Korean BBQ bowls, and buttermilk fried chicken. The place for a casual group dinner when you want good food, great beer, and noise.

Stratford's most celebrated French-bistro kitchen now in its most theatrical home — a heritage Gothic Revival church on Brunswick Street, with a seasonal Perth County-sourced menu and a sommelier-led wine list that has defined fine dining in this town for nearly three decades. The room is extraordinary: stone arches, stained glass, and a kitchen that earns its setting.

Stratford's longest-running upscale dining room in a heritage Victorian house, with a seasonal Ontario-sourced menu and the kind of pedigree that makes it the celebration-dinner default. Old-guard polished, still relevant.

Wood-fired Italian downstairs in a heritage building, with a wine bar and pizzeria menu, plus the upstairs Pazzo Ristorante that adds the full pasta-and-mains. The Italian celebration dinner.

A heritage inn dining room downtown, with classic mains, a serious wine list, and the pre-theatre dinner program that's been a Stratford staple for years.

A long-running pub in the Festival District with the city's best fish and chips, a long taps list, and weekend live music. The default casual dinner during festival weeks.

A casual breakfast-and-lunch counter with monster sandwiches, real comfort food, and the kind of generous portions that earned the festival-cast following. Walk-in only.

A specialty grocer-and-cafe on Wellington Street with proper espresso, salad-and-sandwich lunches, and house-baked bread. Weekdays only and takeout-focused.

A small, chef-driven Wellington Street dinner room with a globally inspired menu built around seasonal Canadian produce. One of the most creative kitchens in Stratford in a quietly intimate setting.

A branch of the Ontario-based specialty-coffee roaster in a heritage downtown building, with the prettiest cafe interior in Stratford. Reliable shot, gorgeous room.

A 100-acre urban natural area on the north edge of Stratford with quiet wooded trails, a meadow, and a small pond. The closest serious nature walk in town.

A 110 km trail system from Conestogo to St. Marys with a 15 km section running through Stratford and the surrounding farmland. Flat, family-friendly, good for biking.

A conservation area on Wildwood Lake 12 km southwest of Stratford, with 17 km of trails, a small beach, and the area's main swimming destination. The summer day-trip with kids.

A network of short paved and gravel trails through Lower Queens Park along the Avon River, linking the festival theatres, the gardens, and downtown. The festival-district walking spine.

Canada's largest and longest-running classical-theatre festival, running mid-April through October across four theatres with Shakespeare, classics, and contemporary work. The reason Stratford exists as a tourist destination.

The Stratford Festival's flagship 1953 thrust-stage theatre on the Avon River, hosting the biggest productions of the season. The architecturally distinctive original venue.

The Festival's heritage 1901 proscenium theatre on Downie Street, the second main venue with a more intimate scale than the Festival Theatre.

The Festival's newest theatre (2020) on Tom Patterson Island, an architectural showpiece with an in-the-round 600-seat stage and floor-to-ceiling river views from the lobby.

The town's history museum focused on agricultural and small-town Ontario history, plus a thoughtful Justin Bieber exhibit honouring the town's most famous son. Quirky and worth the trip.

Stratford's contemporary-art gallery in a heritage building, with rotating exhibitions, artist talks, and a small but ambitious program for the festival audience.

A summer music festival running parallel to the theatre festival, with concerts in venues across town including the festival theatres, churches, and outdoor stages. Genres from classical to jazz to world.

A heritage 18-hole golf course on the south edge of Stratford, founded in 1908 and still public-access. The town's main golf option.

The river that defines Stratford, with its resident pair of swans, the riverside walks, and the bridge views that match the Shakespearean theme. The town's pulse, around which everything else organizes.

A garden alongside the Avon River planted with every flower mentioned in Shakespeare's plays, with quotation panels and a riverside setting. Quirky, themed, and free.

An 1899 Romanesque Revival civic palace on Wellington Street, restored to its original grandeur. The architectural anchor of downtown Stratford.

A small park island on the Avon River with the Tom Patterson Theatre, picnic spots, and the riverside view of the festival theatres. The festival district anchor.

The dammed widening of the Avon River into a small lake in the centre of town, fringed by parks and the festival theatres. The signature Stratford view.