Stratford.

Stratford sits on the Avon River in Perth County, where the dammed river widens into Lake Victoria and runs through a connected park system — Lower Queen's Park, Upper Queen's Park, Confederation Park, North Shore Park, and the riverside Festival Theatre grounds — that threads the centre of the city. The Stratford Festival, founded in 1952 by local journalist Tom Patterson, programs four purpose-built venues from April through October: the Festival Theatre with its thrust stage on the north shore of the Avon, the Tom Patterson Theatre on the waterfront, the Avon Theatre on Downie Street, and the smaller Studio Theatre.

Beyond the festival cluster, T.J. Dolan Natural Area carries a riverside woodland loop on the city's west side, the Avon Trail Association's long-distance route runs through town from St.

Marys toward Conestogo, and the 132 km Goderich to Guelph Rail Trail connects Perth County into the Trans Canada Trail. Stratford is a short drive from Kitchener-Waterloo and London via the Highway 7/8 corridor, and a couple of hours from Toronto.

The city sits on the traditional territory of the Anishinaabe, Haudenosaunee, and Attawandaron Peoples, governed by the Dish with One Spoon Wampum (1701) and the Huron Tract Treaty (1827).