KB Café, with a View of Sacré-Cœur (and Paris Terrace Culture)

After the walk, it's time for a break. Today's stop is KB Café, a place your guide loves for both its interior and its coffee, with tasty desserts too. It's close to a metro station, and the view from the café is so lovely that it's popular with Parisians themselves.

Europeans generally prefer the terrace. Even in midsummer, the terrace tables fill up first, and in winter you'll often see people sitting outside. You might assume the interior must be packed too, only to walk in and find no one there. KB Café is no exception: on a nice weekend, the terrace is buzzing. For the full Parisian feel, your guide recommends grabbing a terrace seat, but note that smoking is allowed on French terraces, so you may catch some cigarette smoke. When she first came to Paris, in July, the heat was intense and the sun fierce, yet people were sitting outside drinking hot coffee, which made no sense to her at the time. After living here, she now sits on a terrace nearly every season except winter. Paris winters are rainy, she says, so by spring your body naturally craves sunlight. In high summer, though, she goes for iced coffee.

Each season has its trade-offs. In winter, tourists are fewer, so waits are shorter and places are less crowded. Summer shows you a sparkling Paris, but it's packed with travelers, and July and August are France's vacation season, so a restaurant you wanted may be closed for the holidays. Summer breaks usually last about three weeks, so if your trip overlaps, you may have to save it for another time. France also has no real air-conditioning culture, and most public transport and buildings lack it, so a handheld fan is a summer must-have; bring one from home. Every season has its pros and cons, and tastes differ, but if you get the chance, try them all.

Back to coffee. Your guide finds French espresso excellent, but milk-based coffee here a little underwhelming. French cafés rarely have signature drinks; the menu is basically espresso, Americano, latte, flat white and cappuccino. French lattes tend to be on the light side, so at a new café she usually orders a cappuccino instead, but KB Café's latte has the nutty flavor she likes, so here she gets the latte. Iced lattes can taste a bit weak almost anywhere, and many places have no iced drinks at all. Look for items labeled "glacé" or "frappé"; those are the cold ones.

Her go-to cafés: KB Café, Boot Café and Arabica Coffee for lattes; La Caféothèque, coming up shortly, for cappuccinos. If you like rich hot chocolate, try Angelina.