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HOW IT RATES The pretty Warwickshire town of Stratford-upon-Avon is full of historic buildings and timber-framed houses built from the trees of the surrounding Forest of Arden. The Avon was once a main trade route but the river is mainly used for punting, canoeing or rowing these days. Most famous for being the birthplace of the Bard, it is one of the top tourist destinations in the UK.

ARCHITECTURAL GEMS Five houses have Shakespearean links in and around the town. Two of these are his birthplace in Henley Street, where the guest book is packed with names of the literati, and Hall's Croft in the Old Town, the home of his eldest daughter, Susanna, which has a collection of 16th and 17th-century paintings and furniture. The Guild Chapel, parts of which date from the 13th century, and the Grammar School, dating from 1417, are worth a visit.

WHAT'S NEW The Stalls is a small development of six apartments in a courtyard setting overlooking the canal. Minutes from the town centre, a three-bed flat here is on the market for £525,000 (Knight Frank, 01789 297735).

QUALITY OF LIFE Pretty good - excepting the hordes of tourists. The town has the charm of being on a river, is surrounded by the beautiful countryside of South Warwickshire and is close to the quintessentially English Cotswolds. There are many English Heritage and National Trust properties in the region, including Warwick Castle.

TRAVEL Stratford-upon-Avon is 22 miles from Birmingham, and is easily accessible from junction 15 of the M40. The railway station is just west of the town centre and has direct trains to London Marylebone (just over 2 hours) and Birmingham Moor Street (almost 1 hour). There are plenty of cycle paths in the centre but most of the sights are easy to reach on foot.

SMART STREETS The best addresses can be found in Maidenhead Road, Avenue Road and Tiddington Road. All offer large, often detached houses - from the old timber-framed to new-build. Knight Frank has one property backing on to the Avon on the market for £1.195 million. The villages of Alveston, Ilmington and Middleton are expensive: a derelict single-storey property in Alveston was sold for £915,000.

BEST RESTAURANTS The sense of history at The Vintner restaurant only covers the flagstone floors and an expanse of oak beams - the excellent food is firmly modern European. Malbec is a local favourite and serves satisfying food: the hint of theatrics with the front-of-house team doesn't go unnoticed.

TOP NIGHTLIFE The play's the thing: the Royal Shakespeare Company, which normally performs at three venues, is at present confined to the Courtyard Theatre. (Major rebuilding work is expected to keep the Royal Shakespeare Theatre and the Swan Theatre closed until 2010.) For something a little more informal, try a pint in the Black Swan (known locally as the Dirty Duck) or the Garrick Inn.

EDUCATION The town has two top grammar schools: King Edward VI for boys, where schooling dates back to the 13th century, and Stratford upon Avon Grammar School for Girls.

WORKING LIFE Tourism is a huge employer, especially in the hotel and catering sectors. The Royal Shakespeare Company attracts huge audiences and income for the town.

UPSIDE To show there is more to Stratford than Shakespeare, the town's four-day Spring Sounds International Music Festival starts today. The haunted Creaky Cauldron is a fascinating glimpse into the supernatural - not for the squeamish.

DOWNSIDE The town can get overrun by tourists. Protesters claim that Middle Quinton, the proposed eco-town near Stratford, would put too much pressure on local services and that more housing is not needed.

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