One of Toronto's more unexpected pleasures: a purpose-built museum, in a Raymond Moriyama building shaped like a shoebox, devoted entirely to footwear and what it reveals about the people who wore it. The collection of more than 13,000 items spans 4,500 years — Egyptian sandals, Chinese bound-foot shoes, Arctic mukluks, Elton John's platforms and assorted celebrity cast-offs.
The permanent gallery traces the social history of shoes, while rotating exhibitions dig into specific cultures or designers. It is compact enough for an hour or two and consistently more interesting than the premise sounds. Sitting at Bloor and St George, it marks the eastern edge of the Annex.