Stratford-upon-Avon is a popular tourist destination owing to its status as birthplace of the playwright and poet William Shakespeare, receiving about three million visitors a year from all over the world. Set in the beautiful rural Warwickshire countryside, on the banks of the river Avon, it is one of the most important tourist destinations in the UK. Town is still an important market town in Warwickshire. Many of the original houses from Shakespeare's time are still in excellent condition.