Trust me on this one, glamorous “City of Light” Paris starts after Charles de Gaulle Airport and the mandatory RER B and subway ride to whichever arrondissement you settled for.

Charles de Gaulle Airport isn’t France (yet). Or maybe it is in a way because it’s an unfixable, inefficient dysfunctional mess, not a warm welcome. Just get your passport stamped and get the hell out of here.

Our Air Transat flight landed at 7:45 a.m. We ended up in the dreaded Terminal 3, the one that looks like an afterthought. We went through immigration (one border officer for the entire plane…) and I picked up my backpack (Mark’s is a carry-on, I’m too cheap to pay the $75 Air Transat fee to check it in), then we walked to Terminal 2 and I reloaded our subway cards.

As much as I enjoy France’s extensive public transportation system, the RER B isn’t the best introduction to it. It’s old, it’s crowded and everybody has tons of luggage because everybody is coming from the airport.

We finally made it to my brother’s place around 10:30 a.m.

It took me two cups of strong coffee to feel human again. Well, kind of. Mark had slept for about four hours in the plane, I think I dozed off for an hour. Never mind, we were in Paris, it was sunny and the air smelled of buttery croissants.

“Are we going for a walk?”

You bet. This was the plan—three days exploring Paris on foot. Honestly, this is the cheapest and most rewarding way to enjoy Paris. The city is compact enough with tons of interesting places along the way, whichever way you go. I do love visiting museums and attractions but let’s be realistic, July is peak season, so not the best time of the year to wander around Le Louvre or climb the Eiffel Tower (unless you don’t mind lineups but I do!).

I finally hit the sweet spot in Paris. I know my way around but the city still surprises me.

And so I took Mark along the Seine and around Le Louvre, to the Eiffel Tower and to the Sacré-Cœur, to Notre-Dame, Place Vendôme and the Champs-Élysées and through Chinatown, Montmartre, rive gauche, rive droite and more.