Stratford offers several distinct themes to consider when planning a trip: cycling, architecture, theatre history and nature. If you’re looking for a hotel in Stratford, you can start by considering which of these themes you’d like to shape your stay. Options range from a stadium tour with a set duration to parkland. This makes it easy to organise your choices around your interests, without having to settle on a fixed itinerary in advance.
Cycling, swimming and stadium tours
Lee Valley VeloPark offers four Olympic cycling disciplines: track cycling, BMX, road cycling and mountain biking. The options vary by type of cycling — from the track to BMX, road cycling and mountain biking. If you’d like to combine your visit to Stratford with cycling activities, this range is a practical starting point for your plans.
London Aquatics Centre offers family sessions, lane swimming, diving and swimming lessons for children and adults. This gives you a choice of different water-based activities: swimming together in a family session, lane swimming, diving or lessons. The lessons are explicitly for children and adults; which option suits you depends on what you’d like to include in your stay.
A tour of London Stadium lasts 60 minutes. It includes a look inside West Ham United’s dressing room, the players’ tunnel and the pitch-side areas. The stated duration gives you a clear block of time to work into your day’s plans; the stops offer a look at both team and stadium areas.
Architecture and views
London Aquatics Centre was designed by Zaha Hadid. For travellers who’d like to include architecture in their interests alongside sporting activities, its connection to a renowned architect is a point of interest in its own right.
At the ArcelorMittal Orbit, two distinct experiences sit side by side: an observation platform with 360-degree views and the world’s highest and longest tunnel slide. The contrast is useful when deciding whether you’d rather include the views or the slide in your visit.
Theatre history and immersive story worlds
Theatre Royal Stratford East was built in 1884. From 1953 to 1979, it was home to Joan Littlewood’s Theatre Workshop Company. The two dates mark different chapters: the theatre’s year of construction and its later, time-limited association with the company. This makes it possible to distinguish the building’s history from its theatre history.
Discover Children’s Story Centre in Stratford has two floors of Story Worlds and a Story Garden with immersive play areas designed for exploration. If stories and playful exploration are among your interests, this offers a different focus from sports activities or theatre history.
Parkland and nature
Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park is open daily. Its wetlands and river meadows are home to hundreds of birds, waterfowl and amphibians. This adds parkland with a range of habitats to the choices of sports, architecture and culture.
The park’s meadows include a gently sloping, heart-shaped lawn featuring the Olympic Rings. There are also wildflower areas and lawns suitable for picnics.
Choose hotels in Stratford to suit your plans
This lets you tailor your search to your own needs, rather than trying to fit every theme into a single day’s itinerary. If you plan to take the stadium tour, allow for its 60-minute duration. For the other themes, you can decide how much to include based on your own itinerary.
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