Bata Shoe Museum

Nobody expects to spend two hours looking at shoes, and nearly everyone who visits the Bata Shoe Museum does. The museum stands at the corner of Bloor and St. George streets in downtown Toronto, a few steps from the St. George subway station and across the street from the Royal Ontario Museum. It opened in 1995 and grew from the personal collection of Sonja Bata, who with her husband Thomas carried on the Bata family's shoemaking business, founded in what is now the Czech Republic. Sonja began collecting footwear from around the world on her travels, and her interest in how shoes reflect culture became a permanent institution.

The building was designed by architect Raymond Moriyama, and its slanted, folded facade is often said to resemble a shoebox with its lid ajar. Inside, the collection numbers in the many thousands of objects and covers some 4,500 years of footwear. The permanent exhibition, All About Shoes, takes visitors through the story from ancient Egyptian sandals to modern designs, showing how materials, climate, status and ritual shaped what people put on their feet. Visitors will also find changing exhibitions that explore single themes in more depth, from the work of a particular designer to footwear in a particular culture.

Some of the most memorable pieces are the ones with a story attached. The galleries have included celebrity footwear, such as pairs worn by famous musicians and actors, as well as practical items like an Arctic explorer's boots. Footwear of the Indigenous peoples of North America, including Inuit boots and beaded moccasins, is a particular strength and shows remarkable craft in sewing, quillwork and decoration. Other galleries cover Chinese bound-foot shoes, European platform shoes and the extravagant heels of 18th-century fashion.

Exhibitions come and go, so check the current schedule on the museum's website before visiting, along with opening hours and ticket prices. Audio guides and family activities are sometimes available.

The museum is compact and calm, and an average visit takes about an hour and a half. It sits beside the Annex and Yorkville districts, so lunch or a stroll is easy to add, and Casa Loma, the Royal Ontario Museum and the University of Toronto campus are all within walking distance. Fashion lovers, design students and curious families will find plenty to talk about, and it is an especially good choice for a rainy day.