23 Fun Things to Do in Stratford, Ontario (Year Round)
Looking for things to do in Stratford, Ontario? You’re in the right place. Stratford is a beautiful historic town, with a great arts, foodie and shopping scene.
I visit Stratford every year, and almost always stay overnight because:
- There’s more to do in Stratford besides see plays
- I want to take advantage of all the amazing places to eat
Stratford is a beautiful place to visit year-round. Regardless of when you come, there are things you’ll want to take advantage of while you’re here.
So, let’s jump in – best things to do in Stratford, by season!
Things to Do in Stratford, Ontario
1. Spend some time in the Market Square
Many of the things to do in Stratford are in or near Market Square, which is right by the beautiful red-brick city hall building.
Things to do in Market Square
- Sit and relax on benches or the Muskoka chairs which are out in summer
- Grab ice cream nearby from Rocky Mountain, or Angela’s Gelato
- Visit the cat cafe
- Go into the smallest cinema in the world (Little Prince Cinema); more on that below
- Eat at some of the restaurants surrounding the square
- Enjoy live music, which is playing there sometimes
- Visit the Sunday Market which is on every week from May to October
2. Do one of the (newly offered) walking tours!
Stratford has rich history, beautiful Victorian buildings and there are some fascinating stories to be heard (ghost walks, the story behind how the Stratford Festival started, etc)
Walking tours in Stratford are offered year-round, and there are a few different types of tours:
- ghost walks in the evening
- food tours
- heritage walking tours, including boat tours
These tours are a pretty recent offering only as of 2024- you can see dates and get tickets on the website here.
Do you prefer a self-guided audio walking tour? There are several available and you can choose between Tom Patterson, Justin Bieber and other themes. I believe its free and there’s a guide here on how to set it up on your phone
3. Check out the smallest cinema in the world
Little Prince Cinema in Stratford made the Guinness Book of World Records as the world’s smallest movie theatre.
They often play older films or indie films. When we were there, Planet of the Apes was on.
We were lucky once to be staying right beside the Little Prince Cinema, so we popped in a few times. There’s freshly popped popcorn that you can buy, and lots of retro, old-fashioned candies.
You can pop in during the day to watch for free, or book tickets for their evening shows. You can also reserve the cinema (it only seats 12 people) for a small group and choose which movie to watch.
Definitely a unique experience. Check out what’s playing during the day, or book private views on the Little Prince website.
4. Eat at some great restaurants
One of the best things about Stratford is the food scene.
There’s so much to choose from – whether you’re looking for high-end gourmet cuisine, a cozy cafe, sushi, mouthwatering Thai, or authentic Italian cuisine – Stratford has amazing options for a city of its size.
The list of restaurants in Stratford is pretty long, as you can imagine, but here are some of the notable ones to keep in mind:
- Braai House- upper-scale South African cuisine. The food is delicious, they have South African wine. And for the quality, portions we found the prices very reasonable. It’s my new favourite restaurant in Stratford!
- Bluebird Restaurant – a bistro that combines elegance with fresh, seasonal healthy options. See menu here
- Plazzo Pizzeria – classic, wood-fired pizza; a gourmet special night out kind of setting
- Raja Chettinad Fine Indian Cuisine – there are 2 really good Indian places in Stratford
- Brch & Wyn – great place for brunch or lunch. (When we were having breakfast here, we spotted one of the Stratford actors who’s in plays every year. So, there’s another sign its good)
Pro Tip: Many of the restaurants in Stratford take dinner reservations. If you’re coming on a weekend in summer, I do recommend reserving in advance. We left it until the last minute and were very lucky to get an 8pm reservation at Braai House
If these above options don’t really grab you, there is another list here with more restaurant ideas for Stratford.
5. Do the Avon River walk
The Avon River runs through Stratford, and they have made it very easy to take a nice leisurely walk down it with paved trails, and benches along the way.
You could do the entire river loop – it’s about 3.5 km (2.2 miles) and takes around 45 minutes to walk all of it. Or, you could also just walk parts of it.
You can do this any season – it’s gorgeous between spring and fall, because of the blooming flowers, wildlife (we saw many ducks, and sometimes swans) and changing foliage later in the year.
Chances are you’ll stumble upon the Avon Loop trail without even trying. That’s what we did. If you want to plan to do the full 3.5k loop, you can see a map of the trail here.
6. Do the Stratford Chocolate Trail
The Stratford Chocolate Trail is a self-guided walking tour of the historic downtown. You pay $39.55 for 6 vouchers that you can spend at any of the participating merchants, which you can exchange for a sweet treat.
It’s as much a sightseeing walk as it is a way to find the best chocolate treats in town.
The participating merchants have very specific offerings for the chocolate trail, and you can choose the one(s) you’re interested in.
Personally, I chose not to do the official chocolate trail, because the things that I would want to buy weren’t on the list. So, I recommend checking out the list in advance to make sure there are at least 6 items that you want
7. Visit one of the oldest markets in Canada
The Stratford Farmer’s Market runs year-round on Saturdays and is one of the longest-running farmer’s markets in Ontario.
From May to October, the market expands outside, and the rest of the year, it’s all indoors.
There are always interesting things to buy there; lots of food, baked goods, handmade soaps and locally foraged mushrooms. Check out the list of vendors here.
8. Rent a boat (or a bike)
*summer months only*
There is a low-key (not often busy) spot on the Avon River where you can rent paddle boats, canoes and kayaks.
You can rent them by simply showing up at The Boathouse, pictured above. Canoes are $30, and kayaks and paddle boards are a couple of dollars less.
9. Go foraging
Here’s a unique thing to do in Stratford. Between July and November, you can go foraging in the woods for mushrooms with a business called Puck’s Plenty.
Pucks Plenty has been featured on Globe and Mail, Oprah’s show and many others.
The tours are 2-3 hours long, and you learn about sustainable harvesting practices. You will leave with a large bag of mushrooms that are safe to use for eating or adding to teas as a powerful antioxidant.
Some of the foraging tours and feast events are in Stratford, but some are in other towns; Bright, Cambridge or even Barrie
10. Get some ice cream
Stratford has so ice cream places, and regardless of the time of year, this is something to appreciate.
There are various soft-serve places, authentic Itlaian-style gelato, and many unique flavours. Lots of dairy-free options too.
Here are your options for ice cream in Stratford:
- Jen & Larry’s – sundaes, ice cream sandwiches, and dipped soft-serve
- Scooper’s Ice Cream -several flavours of hard ice cream, plus smoothies and frozen yogurt
- Angela’s Gelato – highly recommended. Best gelato I’ve ever tasted outside of Italy. Right near Marquet
In addition to the above, there are a few chains in Stratford such as Dairy Queen, and a Rocky Mountain
11. Do some window shopping
Stratford has great shopping; lots of independently owned stores that carry anything from high-end brands, imported goods, and local handicrafts.
It’s a great place to find unique gifts for someone or Canadian souvenirs.
Some of the interesting stores we see in Stratford are:
- Fancare Books, a cozy Irish bookstore (we bought a book for each member of our family)
- a tea shop called Distinctly Tea
- Kinna Sohna, handcrafted clothing from India
- a Scottish shop (MacLeod’s)
- Designer children’s clothes
- Neob, a lavender product store that sells products made from lavender grown in Niagara on the Lake
- + much more
I recommend just spending some time walking around, window shopping and checking out the stores. Just wandering around and exploring is part of the experience of being in Stratford.
12. See the town lit up at night
Stratford, although exciting and cultured, is still a relatively small town and many things close early.
However, we loved walking around after dark and seeing how many places in the city were all lit up.
The bridges over the river are illuminated, as were several buildings in town. It’s worth it to take a walk in the evening, especially in winter when there are even more lights.
13. Do the Savour and Sip Trail
The Savour and Sip Trail is similar to the Chocolate Trail, except it focuses on a variety of foods, rather than only sweet options and it’s exclusively available in the summer months (May 31st until October 31st.)
Like with the Chocolate Trail tour, you pay $39.55 for 5 vouchers and can use these 5 vouchers at any of the 15 participating breweries. See the list of vendors and offers here.
14. Visit a brewery
Stratford also has two different breweries – the Jobsite Brewing Company, and the Black Swan.
If you’re up for a short drive, there’s also another one called Shakespeare Brewing Company in the town of Shakespeare (15 minutes from Stratford.)
- The Jobsite – has good wood-fired pizzas.
- the Black Swan – very small, with limited indoor seating and some outdoor
If you’re not doing one of the trails, vsiting the breweries is a good way to try some local craft beers instead.
15. Take a stroll through the Shakespearean Gardens
The Shakespearean gardens are right along the Avon River in the heart of town. They are beautiful manicured and landscaped gardens in Shakespearean style.
They’re very accessible from downtown, just a short walk. They make a nice romantic hand-in-hand walk, a family picnic, or even a girl’s afternoon out.
They are nice gardens to stroll through any time of the year (except maybe winter, because it can get icy.)
Pro Tip: Close to the Shakespearean gardens is the Bluebird restaurant, Hungry Ninja (Japanese) and El Cactus Taco Shop. Have a bite to eat and then walk it off by exploring the gardens
16. Visit a cat cafรฉ
Alley Cat Cafรฉ is located in Market Place. It’s quite large, and has many cats. If you don’t want to go in for any reason (allergic to cats) the place has large windows, so you can easily hi to them from the outside.
The cats in the cafe are rescues and up for adoption. They recommend reserving a spot in advance on their website.
17. Explore local history at the Stratford Perth Museum
The Stratford Perth Museum drew some attention recently because of its special Justin Bieber exhibit.
It’s a nice place to go to learn about the history of the town. Old artifacts, even some old vehicles. Everything is in surprisingly good condition, and the staff is really helpful and knowledgeable if you have questions.
Getting to the Museum: The Museum is a short 5-minute drive outside town and would take 45 minutes if you walked from downtown. If you don’t have a car, there’s an on-demand bus service offered at Ride Stratford that can take you to the museum.
18. Admire art at the Gallery Indigena
Gallery Indigena is an art gallery with a beautiful collection of indigenous art. It has a store attached to it with some pretty unique souvenirs and gifts.
The gallery is very small (all one room) but definitely worth a pop in to see some beautiful artwork of Canadian native wildlife and scenery.
19. See a play at the Stratford Festival
The Stratford Festival has been running since 1953 and involves several (mostly) Shakespearean plays.
The plays take place at different theatre venues around the town and run from April to October.
I’ve seen many plays at the Stratford Festival over the years, and they’re always very well done. Most recently, we saw Twelfth Night, which is now my favourite Shakespearean play ever because it’s comedy.
Before the show, the souvenir shop attached to the theatre sold souvenirs specifically related to the play we were seeing. My husband and I got T-shirts with Twelfth Night quotes on them; they make a nice souvenir of our date night.
Book your tickets in advance for plays on the Stratford Festival website.
Pro Tip: When you book your tickets, just be very sure about your dates because refunds or exchanges aren’t super simple. We actually had to do a date change because of a childcare conflict; they helped us bit wasn’t a straightforward process.
20. Do a river tour
*summer months only*
Stratford River Tours are 30 minutes long and take you along the river. It’s a nice way to see the city from different angles.
The tours are offered out of the Boathouse (the same place that rents out kayaks and peddle boats.)
Similar to the rentals – you just show up and book on the spot.
21. Visit the Stratford Sunday Market
The Sunday Market was a surprise for us since we hadn’t known about it before! (It is separate from the Farmer’s Market which runs on Saturdays)
The Sunday Market takes place at Market Square, and there are vendor tents set up selling their locally sourced goods.
You can find baked goods, kombucha, fresh produce, homemade cosmetics, jewelry and other items.
The Sunday Market runs from early May until mid-October, from 10am to 2pm. There are usually some good updates on their Facebook page.
22. See some out-of-town gems
If you’re coming out to the Stratford area, there are a lot of things to see and do just outside of Stratford.
Some of the cutest small towns in Ontario are located near Stratford, such as St. Mary’s and the town of Shakespeare.
Here are a few other places to consider seeing while you’re out this way.
- Shakespeare – a great place to shop for antiques
- St. Mary’s – a very cute tourist town known for its limestone buildings
- Grand Bend, Kincardine or Goderich (all around 1 hour west of Stratford) some of the best beaches in Ontario with the clearest blue Lake Superior water
Stratford in Winter Only: Things to Do
While Stratford is most popular during the summer months, it’s also one of the best Ontario winter destinations.
23. Straford Light Festival
The Stratford Light Festival has different dates every year, but this coming season, it runs from mid-December until mid-Januaryv (December 13th until January 19th, 2025.)
It involves beautiful light installations around the city, and admiring them is free and accessible to everyone. No tickets are needed. Simply be in Stratford during those dates, and come out at dusk to admire the lights.
24. Embrace winter at River Valley
Rent snowshoes and go on a snowshoeing trail at the nearby River Valley, which is about a 30-minute drive outside Stratford.
They also have winter tubing slides which are 800 feet long. These activities can be booked online in their website.
Best Places to Stay in Stratford
- Budget: Mercer Hotel is right downtown; just a 5-10 minute walk from Market Square. From here, you could walk to all the restaurants, stores and along the river
- Mid-Range: The Avonlea – we stayed here last time we visited Stratford, and its perfect if you want to be right in the centre of everything. It’s very simple, no frills, nothing fancy. But it’s right next door to the Little Prince Theatre, and right across from the market square. Great location!
- Bed & Breakfast: Avonview Manor is a bed and breakfast just a short walk from the town centre, and from the Avon Theater (perfect if you’re going to be watching a play)
- Luxury: The Bruce Hotel is a perfect place to stay if you’re in Stratford for a special occasion; bridal party, romantic getaway, or wedding. It’s a bit fancier.
Visiting Stratford Ontario FAQ
Here are the most commonly asked questions about visiting Stratford
Is Stratford, Ontario worth visiting?
Stratford Ontario is definitely worth visiting. It’s one of the most charming small cities in southern Ontario. It makes a great day trip or weekend getaway.
How do I spend a day in Stratford Ontario?
To spend 1 day in Stratford, I recommend first taking the morning to walk around and window shop. Grab lunch or brunch at one of the many fantastic restaurants. In the afternoon, visit the museum, art gallery, or rent a paddle boat (summer only.) Grab dinner at a different restaurant of your choosing, and see a live performance in the evening.
Final Thoughts on Visiting Stratford, Ontario
I hope that you enjoyed this guide on things to do in Stratford, Ontario. It’s a beautiful town, and one of my favourite weekend getaways in Ontario. You can do it as a day trip, or spend a whole weekend. I hope that you enjoy as much as I do!