Together with its surrounding municipalities, Elda, Alicante is home to many of Spain’s footwear and leather accessories companies. The town has its own Footwear Museum (Museo del Calzado). The museum is very active organizing many interesting exhibits. It also houses designer shops by some of the most prominent Spanish shoe brands.
Since 1999, every November the museum awards the title of the Mejor Calzada – “The Woman with the Best Shoes”. The prize is a selection of shoes for all seasons from the town’s leading shoe brands, such as Magrit, Paco Gil, Paco Herrero, Chie Mihara, Pedro García, Sacha London, Rebeca Sanver, Brenda Zaro, JONI Shoes, Audley Shoes, and many others. Past winners include the actress Paz Vega (“Spanglish”) and the late Duchess of Alba.
