If you know more facts about Ghery’s Guggenheim than the AGO, and the last time you looked up at the Graduate House was on a drunken night in 1999, then it’s time to take a tour of your local architecture.

Margaret and Phil Goodfellow’s Guide to Contemporary Architecture in Toronto ($24.95) is all the inspiration you’ll need to map out your tour. From private residences (the Levitt Goodman house on Euclid) to eye-popping landmarks (the Eatonville Public Library), this handy book is packed with exquisite buildings you’ve likely walked past, but never even seen.

Case in point: I’m a stone’s throw from U of T and only just discovered the “Trinity College Quadrangle.” —Athena Tsavliris

At Good Egg, 267 Augusta Ave., Toronto, 416-593-4663, www.goodegg.ca

When it comes to hosting houseguests we keep it simple: a stack of fresh towels at the end of the bed, some posh hotel slippers and a secret stash of shortbread for late-night munchies.

On the bedside table is the quintessential "little black book", (although it’s lavender) that beelines our stylish Toronto guests to the city’s gems. As with all Hg2 travel books, the Toronto edition is packed full of flashy pics, insider tips and suggestions on where to eat, drink and play.

All the usual suspects made the cut—Drake, Splendido, Courage My Love—with a few off radar picks like Swan’s End Guest House and Camp 4.

Your guests will be having so much fun that they won’t want to leave, at which point you confiscate the shortbread. —Athena Tsavliris

www.hg2.com

If you’re anything like us and prefer to forgo the tourist traps while on holiday, we suggest you refer to the Not For Tourists guides ($14.35-$17.00).

With the philosophy that people use both the cities they visit and live in, the creators of Not For Tourists compiled pocket-sized books to assist people in traveling more effectively. With one-of-a-kind perspectives, the portable format, contemporary design and neighborhood commentaries will surely turn you into a local expert. So, perhaps next time you’re visiting New York, Chicago or San Francisco, you’ll skip the Sex and the City tour, and opt for an adventure of your own making.

Available at Not For Tourists and by request at Book City, 716 Queen St. W, Toronto, 416-964-1167, http://www.bookcity.ca

Fancy yourself a bit of a Eugene Fodor? Go on, toss the guidebook in the Thames and write your own instead.

A city atlas and journal in one, the Moleskine City Guides feature metro maps and a tabbed index, plus plenty of blank sheets for sketching and scribbles.

We love those translucent overlays for the maps – very handy for plotting retail pauses round the Rive Gauche.

Globetrotters can pick-up Paris, London, New York, and most other major European and U.S. capitals. Montreal, Miami, Los Angeles and Chicago to come.

City Guides available at Swipe, 477 Richmond St. W., Toronto, 416-363-1332, www.swipe.com