When I arrived in Paris last summer, I quickly fell into the laid-back lifestyle of the city. I sought to unleash my inner Parisienne and turned to the words of French literary big cheese, Victor Hugo, "To err is human. To loaf is Parisian." Ô how I loafed! However, as the summer ended, sadly, so too did the loafing.  The days got shorter, as did the pools of lingering afternoon sunlight, the Parisians’ tempers, and the coffee – café allongé rationed to espressos that were knocked back with a grimace on the morning commute. Hélas, summer is finally returning, and with it a new cultural calendar awaits!

Standing under the Eiffel Tower, climbing up to the Sacré Coeur, visiting the Centre Pompidou: the best things in Paris are free. The FNAC Festival (July) has a super line up of free concerts featuring Glass Animals, Mø, Ben l'Oncle Soul and Moodoïd, all against the grandiose backdrop of the Hôtel de Ville. Moving north from the 1ère arrondissement to the 19ème, the Festival de cinema en plein air is the perfect opportunity to see Moonrise Kingdom, American Grafitti and Somewhere on the big screen for free at La Villette park.

Food truck culture has taken Paris with aplomb, and the best of the city’s culinary minds are challenging the tired tradition of flubbery garlic snails and stuffy bistros with their meals on wheels. Le Tricycle serves veggie hot dogs with zany toppings (Le Snoop Dogg comes with a dollop of caramellised onions that is sticky-icky-icky perfection) or choose an artisan sandwich à emporter from supper club, Verjus or the Caravanne Dorée. Even Pierre Hermé is daring to play with the gallic DNA of iconic French pastries! His new range of ice cream terrines sandwiched between fruity macaron wafers has given a childhood classic, the ice cream sandwich, a grown up, gourmet make over, while Christophe Adam has just unveiled ‘l’éclair glacé”, a pastry-cum-popsicle enveloping light and airy fruit and caramel ice cream in traditional choux pastry.

As it’s illegal to swim in the Seine in Paris intramuros, taking a dip to cool off during a summer day is not recommended. However, thanks to Paris Plages (July and August), you can feel the (imported) sand between your toes, borrow a book from the pop up Flammarion library, or relax with a free Tai Chi class along the river. The Paris equivalent to London’s South Bank, Les Berges, is a prime spot to open a bottle of Monoprix’s finest five-euro wine, and play a game of swing ball or ping-pong as the sun goes down. The best nightlife is found Seine-side too, and while Wanderlust by the docks in the 13ème may not be the most central of Parisian clubs, it does boast the best outdoor summer terrace for dancing to minimal techno and chilled house. Further north, you can find some of the most eclectic nights at Batofar, an inconspicuous looking little red boat that tranquilly bobs beside the Bibliothèque Nationale de France. With an eclectic line of summer events hosted by Parisian collectives like skate crew KLAP and electronic music label, Sound Pellegrino, you’ll never know what you’re letting yourself in for until get you step aboard. Debuting in June is a new, somewhat niche event, Electro Pétanque that looks to unite two of the country’s coups de coeur: modern EDM with every French pensioner’s favourite pastime, boules. 

In a city tourists flock to, visitors are missing out on the best Paris can offer, with their frantic sightseeing ordre du jour: hopping from metro station to metro station, backs turned, arms stretched high to get the that all important Eiffel Tower postcard-selfie, scoffing macaroons in two bites and then endlessly dithering over which Instagram lomo filter can bring their overpriced pastry into LCD life. By the time they’ve snaked their way through the crowds of the Louvre to meet Mona, they’ll think that she’s the only lady in Paris who seems to smile. The perennial beauty of summer in Paris can be lost in the guidebooks and the slipping hourglass of weekend breaks and day trips, but during the city’s best season, slow down and get lost. Loaf on mes biches!