4 Best Sights in Stratford-upon-Avon and the Heart of England, England

Part of the University of Birmingham, this museum has a small but astounding collection of European paintings, prints, drawings, and sculpture, including works by Botticelli, van Dyck, Gainsborough, Turner, Manet, Monet, Degas, van Gogh, and Magritte. The museum also has a lively program of temporary exhibitions and a weekly lunchtime concert at 1 pm on Friday, as well as occasional evening concerts. The museum is three miles from the city center; to get here, take a train from New Street Station to University Station, which is a 10-minute walk from the gallery, or jump on a No. 61 or 63 bus, operated by National Express West Midlands.

Vast and impressive, this museum holds a magnificent collection of Victorian art and is known internationally for its works by the Pre-Raphaelites. All the big names are here—among them Rubens, Renoir, Constable, and Francis Bacon—reflecting the enormous wealth of 19th-century Birmingham and the aesthetic taste of its industrialists. Galleries of metalwork, silver, and ceramics reveal some of the city’s history, and works from the Renaissance, the Arts and Crafts movement, and the present day are also well represented. One gallery displays part of the incredible Staffordshire Hoard, the greatest collection of Anglo-Saxon treasure ever discovered. The 3,500-strong haul was unearthed in a field 16 miles north of Birmingham; among the hundreds of items on permanent display here include helmets, gold, jewelry, and metalwork. The Edwardian Tearooms are good for lunch, and there is a great play area for kids just outside.

Push buttons and pedals to your heart's content to make the exhibits in the Mechanical Art & Design Museum come alive. Witty, beautiful, and intricate automata and examples of kinetic art will clank, whir, and rattle away. Marbles and Ping-Pong balls thread and bounce through looping runs, a typewriter plays tunes on glasses and bottles, and two trains chuff around high up on the walls. Kids will love constructing their own marble run, and grown-ups will marvel at the Kitchenator display. There's also a shop full of weird and wonderful things to buy. Tickets last all day so you can come and go as you please.

Located in the the town’s former Music Hall, this museum chronicles the history of the area, from prehistoric times to the present day. One gallery tells the story of Roman occupation; some genuine finds include a unique silver mirror from nearby Wroxeter. Another gallery focuses on the boom years of the 19th century, including a display on the life of Shrewsbury’s most famous son, Charles Darwin. Special exhibitions change regularly.