7 Best Sights in Queen's Park, The Annex, and Little Italy, Toronto

Created by Sonja Bata, wife of the founder of the Bata Shoe Company, this museum holds a permanent collection of more than 15,000 foot coverings and, through the changing fashions, highlights the craft and sociology of making shoes. Some items date back more than 4,500 years. Among the items that may pop up in the rotating exhibits are delicate 16th-century velvet platforms, iron-spiked clogs used for crushing chestnuts, 8-inch lime green Vivienne Westwood heels, Elton John's platform boots, and Elvis Presley's blue (patent leather, not suede) shoes.

A European-style castle, Casa Loma was commissioned in 1911 by financier Sir Henry Pellatt, who spent about C$20 million building his dream home—only to lose it to the taxman a decade later. Some impressive details are the giant pipe organ, the 60-foot-high ceilings in the Great Hall, and the 5-acre estate gardens. The rooms are copies of those in English, Spanish, Scottish, and Austrian castles. Exhibits feature antique cars and hyper-realistic statues of celebrities (paying homage to the many movies, from Chicago to X-Men, that have used Casa Loma as a location), alongside other rotating attractions and events. Included in the admission price is a self-guided multimedia tour (available in four languages).  A tour of Casa Loma is a good 1½-km (1-mile) walk, so wear sensible shoes.

Looking for all the world like a setting from one of the Harry Potter novels, this neo-Gothic student center opened its doors in 1919. Originally restricted to male students, Hart House has been open to women since 1972. Revolving selections from Hart House's robust art collection, which includes pieces by the Group of Seven and Emily Carr, hang throughout the building. Each year, new pieces are carefully curated by committee, with a focus on living Canadian artists. The Justina M. Barnicke Gallery comprises two rooms of mixed-media art showcasing contemporary creators from Toronto and beyond. The stained-glass windows and vaulted ceiling in the Great Hall are impressive, but so is the cuisine at the on-site Gallery Grill, which offers a menu of grilled seafood, house-made pastas, and creative veggie options from September through June.

Honoring the memory of the city's first children's librarian, this branch houses the Osborne Collection of Early Children's Books, which contains over 90,000 items, including a cuneiform tablet dating all the way back to 2,000 BC. In addition, the Merril Collection of Science Fiction, Speculation, and Fantasy includes another 80,000-plus items covering everything from parapsychology to UFOs.

This 1893 Romanesque revival building, home to Ontario's provincial government, is often referred to simply as "Queen's Park," after the surrounding grounds. The detail-rich exterior is made of pink Ontario sandstone; inside, the huge, lovely halls echo half a millennium of English architecture. The long hallways are hung with hundreds of oils by Canadian artists, and a permanent space is devoted to rotating works by Indigenous artists. Various specialized tours are available, focusing on everything from the parliamentary chambers to the building's artwork and architecture. It is also possible to watch parliament in session from the public gallery. Statues of historical figures, including Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth II, dot the lawn in front of the building.

Early writing artifacts such as a Babylonian cuneiform tablet, a 2,000-year-old Egyptian papyrus, and books dating to the beginning of European printing in the 15th century are shown here in exhibits changing three times annually. Subjects of these shows might include William Shakespeare, Galileo Galilei, Italian opera, or contemporary typesetting. Registration is required to use the collections, so bring government-issued ID with you, but there's no admission fee to view the exhibition area.

Almost a city unto itself, the University of Toronto's student and staff population numbers well over 100,000. The institution dates to 1827, when King George IV signed a charter for a "King's College in the Town of York, Capital of Upper Canada." The Church of England had control then, but by 1850 the college was proclaimed nondenominational, renamed the University of Toronto, and put under the control of the province. Then, in a spirit of Christian competition, the Anglicans started Trinity College, the Methodists began Victoria, and the Roman Catholics began St. Michael's; by the time the Presbyterians founded Knox College, the University was changing at a great rate. Now the 12 schools and faculties are united and accept students from all over the world. The architecture is interesting, if uneven, as one might expect on a campus that's been built in bits and pieces over 150 years.