After two earlier trips to Paris, one when I was 23 and slept in a train station outside the city before grabbing a train for the coast, and another time years later when I was there on a FAM for one night only, I went back this summer with my wife and three other couples. You could say we were a small group.

By sheer luck, we arrived the week before the heat did. We flew home one day before the city became unbearable. For several weeks beginning in mid-June, Paris made international headlines for temperatures topping 100 degrees. The City of Light became a city of sweat. Residents and visitors suffered equally.

That’s because Paris is for walkers and bicyclists. You don’t watch out for cars; you watch out for bicycles. We used Uber and metro lines as needed, but Paris exists at street level. Those in our group who regularly count steps swapped stories each evening about their numbers.

A young woman led us on a daylong custom tour of the city, and she was amazing. Her energy level was contagious, her spontaneity refreshing. We basically had an eight-hour strolling conversation with her. She loved Paris and wanted us to love it, too. We did Montmartre, a morning cafe stop, Notre Dame cathedral, an hour or so in the Left Bank, a long walk along the Seine and finished at the Musée d’Orsay. When you go, do not miss the Musée d’Orsay.

The heat we avoided is likely to occur again. Maybe go in the spring or fall. Visit the Shakespeare and Company Bookstore. Buy a book and have it stamped.