( CNN ) -- Go to the theater ? Visit his hometown ? Drink like an Elizabethan ? What 's the most appropriate way to toast the world 's best-known writer ? This month marks 450 years since the birth of William Shakespeare . Bard-o-philes argue over April 23 or April 26 -- the exact birth date is unclear , though historic documents show the date of his baptism as April 26 , and newborns were usually baptized within three days of their birth in the 16th century . Instead of getting into that argument , we prefer to propose six things Bill may have done himself to celebrate the day . 1 . Stroll the streets of Stratford-upon-Avon . Shakespeare was born in 1564 in Stratford-upon-Avon , an ancient market town in Warwickshire in the middle of England . It 's perfect for fans of the playwright and also lovers of gardens , cream tea , white swans and black-and-white Tudor buildings . This quaint town screams England ... or rather , murmurs it politely . Tea rooms serve cream-loaded scones as big as beef burgers and ale is pumped from 600-year-old pubs . The playwright 's influence is everywhere -- from Shakespeare 's Hotel to Hathaway Tearoom to Othello 's Restaurant . But the town 's biggest draws are the five houses linked to its most famous son , including Shakespeare 's Birthplace and Anne Hathaway 's Cottage . The former is a 15th-century house thought to be where the poet was born . The latter is the family home of Shakespeare 's wife , with beautiful gardens . Stratford Town Walk is a great way to take in a thousand years of history in two hours . Tour guide John Hogg , 69 , says the walk takes place every day , come rain or shine , even when the River Avon bursts its banks . Stratford-upon-Avon . 2 . Join the birthday bonanza . Visitors to Shakespeare 's Birthplace on April 23 will be able to sign a guest book that 's brought out only once a year . The book was first signed in 1847 and contains signatures of literary legends such as Thomas Hardy and Charles Dickens . On the same day , the Stratford-based Royal Shakespeare Company will stage a fireworks show , scheduled to start at 10:30 p.m. from the theater 's 36-meter-tall tower . The company is performing `` Henry IV , Part I '' and `` Part II '' during the birthday week . The traditional birthday procession in Stratford-upon-Avon takes place on the morning of April 26 . Students from King Edward VI Grammar School , where Shakespeare studied as a boy , will parade from the Town Hall to the Holy Trinity Church then place quill pens on the writer 's grave . The procession will be followed by a people 's pageant at 11 a.m. Everyone can chip in to cheer , lament or act like the Bard . The Elizabethan street party will be joined for the first time by a six-meter-tall mechanical Lady Godiva . 3 . Walk the City of London . After leaving his hometown , Shakespeare lived , wrote and acted extensively in an eastern part of London near the River Thames , known as the City of London . Actor-turned-tour-guide Declan McHugh , 53 , hosts a Shakespeare-themed walking tour each Friday -- the tour follows a thread through the cobblestone backstreets of London 's financial district . `` There are lots of memorials of one kind or another , including sculptures and plaques , '' says McHugh . `` But many are n't well known and are hidden away in odd nooks and crannies . '' Highlights on the 105-minute tour include the sites of the only two documented London addresses where the playwright lived and reading Shakespeare 's signature on his housing deeds . To celebrate the writer 's birthday , McHugh will lead two special Shakespeare walking tours in South London ( starting at 11 a.m. , April 22 and 23 ) , as well as two City Walks ( starting at 6 p.m. , April 22 and 23 ) . The Shakespeare City Walk ; Â£9.50 ( $ 16 ) ; every Friday from 11 a.m. 4 . Explore the Globe Theatre . Although the reconstructed Elizabethan theater is no longer standing on its original site ( the original Globe , completed in 1599 , was about 250 meters to the southeast ) , it provides a lovely excuse to imagine yourself as an ale-wielding , garlic-chewing , Elizabethan fun seeker . The theater tour is brilliant . For a Tudor penny -- or Â£13.50 ( $ 22.75 ) in today 's money -- you 're taken through a brief history of the Globe and Elizabethan theater . You can watch a show at the Globe 's new addition , the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse . The four-month-old candle-lit playhouse is a reproduction of Blackfriars Theatre , another important Shakespearean theater that once existed north of the Thames . The oak and thatched-roofed structure will open its doors for free on April 21 from noon to 5 p.m . It will also stage its newest interpretation of `` Hamlet '' from April 23-26 before the show embarks on a world tour , visiting every country on the planet in the next two and half years . Shakespeare 's Globe , 21 New Globe Walk , Bankside , London ; +44 20 7902 1400 ; opening time varies from month to month , check the official website before your visit . 5 . Watch fringe events at The Rose . Minutes from the Globe Theatre lay the ruins of The Rose , the first Elizabethan playhouse on Bankside , built in 1587 . They 're the only surviving parts of an Elizabethan theater open to the public in London . The foundations of The Rose were discovered in 1989 under a demolished office block . Philip Henslowe , the playhouse 's owner , kept a detailed diary , documenting everything from how plays were performed to how much had been spent on renovations . Through this diary , `` we know more about Elizabethan playgoing from The Rose than from any other source , '' says Suzanne Marie , an honorary artistic associate with the theater . The Rose is now used as a fringe theater . Plays written by Elizabethan masters are staged here almost every night . The space also hosts an Open Day every Saturday . Visitors can watch a 15-minute video about the playhouse 's history , enjoy a few fringe-style theater scenes and learn about The Rose Revealed Project , a program aimed to convert the site into a permanent public display by 2016 . The Rose Theatre , 56 Park St. , Bankside , Southwark , London ; +44 20 7261 9565 ; Open Day takes place every Saturday from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. 6 . Grab a pint at an historic pub . It 's hard to know how much or how often Shakespeare drank , but the playwright certainly gave the impression of enjoying a tipple . Records suggest he rented out half of his old home in Stratford-upon-Avon to a pub called Swan & Maidenhead , which operated for another two centuries after Shakespeare 's death in 1616 . The Garrick Inn in Stratford was likely a regular haunt for the bard . The three-story half-timber building is the oldest pub in town . It had already existed for about 150 years when Shakespeare was born and was once owned by David Garrick , a renowned 18th-century Shakespearean actor . It boasts to have served ale since 1594 . In London , things are a bit tricky as the Great Fire in 1666 razed most of the buildings related to Shakespeare . `` The Hoops and Grapes in Aldgate is one of the few buildings in the City of London to have survived the Great Fire , '' says Matt Brown , managing editor of Londonist.com . `` Its wonky timbers offer a rare glimpse into how much of London would have looked in Shakespeare 's time . '' The 37-year-old Londoner is a walking encyclopedia of the city 's 7,000 or so registered pubs . He also recommends the Horse and Groom , right next to The Curtain , where `` Romeo and Juliet '' is thought to have been first staged . Remains of the early Shakespearean theater in Shoreditch were discovered in 2012 . The Hoops and Grapes , 47 Aldgate High St. , London ; +44 20 7481 4583 ; opens 11 a.m.-11 p.m. on Monday-Friday ; 11 a.m.-6 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday . Horse and Groom , 28 Curtain Road , London ; +44 20 7503 9421 ; opens noon-midnight Monday-Wednesday ; noon-1 a.m. Thursday ; noon-4 a.m. Friday ; 7.30 p.m.-4 a.m. Saturday ; and 3 p.m.-midnight Sunday . The Garrick Inn , 25 High St. , Stratford-upon-Avon , Warwickshire ; +44 1789 292 186 ; opens 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Monday-Saturday ; 11 a.m.-10.30 p.m. Sunday . Will you commemorate Shakespeare 's birthday ? Leave a comment -- perhaps a sonnet -- in the comments section . Tracy You is a freelance writer and journalist based in London .
The 450th anniversary of the birth of William Shakespeare is being celebrated in April . Visitors to Shakespeare 's birthplace can read a guest book given out just once a year since 1847 . John Hogg , actor , leads tours of Stratford - upon - Avon every day , rain or shine .