"We are truly the shoemakers of the world," Bata boasts, and with 5,000 retail stores in 69 countries it’s hard to contest such a statement. Since shoes are clearly Bata’s business, it seems fitting that this company would open North America’s first footwear museum.

The Bata Shoe Museum houses over 10,000 shoes in an award winning, five-story structure. Looking at old shoes may sound ho-hum, but some of this footwear is 4,500 years old. Every shoe has a story. Imagine if your old loafers could talk?

At this museum there’s a wooden sandal that was excavated in West Bengal in the 2^nd to 1^st Century, BC. In fact, there’s a whole section dedicated to "Padukas"—Indian footwear. In its simplest form, a wooden board was cut into the shape of a footprint with a post and knob at the front, to go between the big and second toe. These were not exactly Tevas, but they were open and airy, and meant to keep the sole raised above the sun-baked ground.

The museum also has more recent Indian footwear, including leather sandals, embroidered velvet slippers with upturned toes, and woven grass shoes—none of which would be terribly useful during a Canadian winter.