4 days Paris itinerary

First: you're going to have such a blast! :-) Second: a couple of thoughts. When in the Marais, I recommend that you pop into the Musee de Carnavalet. It's FREE, is housed in a gorgeous old mansion, and has a crazy collection of stuff related to the history of the city of Paris. If the Picasso Museum is closed, you could try checking out the Petit Palais. This is also FREE, and generally has fewer tourists than other Big Famous Museums. The have really neat, unexpected stuff, and the building itself is magnificent. Versailles plus Sacre Coeur (is that what you mean?) and another church and lunch somewhere is a huge, enormous day. Versailles in August will be jammed with tourists, which can mean super long lines and delays. It could be HOT HOT HOT and unpleasant. Last time I was there was in late September and I darned near roasted to death while sweltering in lines and shuffling SLOWLY along behind other tourists. That isn't to say you should avoid it. Just - drink fluids, wear sunscreen, pace yourself, and maybe make that the one big thing you plan to do that day. A fun twist on Versailles is to take the bus. Very fun sight-seeing as you go along, and the bus is likely to have A/C. You can also hop off for a meal or a glass of wine along the way if you see a nice looking place.

Versailles in August is going to be VERY CROWDED. If you can possibly purchase tickets ahead of time you should do so or you will spend your day standing in line. The gardens are spectacular and you don't want to miss the Petite Trinanon where the king and queen did most of their living away from the chaos of the palace. Getting out to Versailles, seeing all there is to see, and getting back will take much of the day so get there early.

Too bad you will miss the garden fountains in Versailles. They only operate on a strict schedule and your day is not one of them. They are spectacular, here is the schedule: http://en.chateauversailles.fr/prepare-my-visit-/single/tickets-and-rates/billets-et-tarifs/les-grandes-eaux-1-en

Musee Picasso has been closed for renovations and while it was scheduled to open this summer, I believe it has been delayed quite a bit. You may want to double check that its open before you go to the museum on Thursday morning and have an alternative plan just in case.

Suggest including walking around Ile St. Louis (little island east of Notre Dame) and the Luxembourg Gardens which I like much more than Parc Monceau.

I think that your Tuesday and Wednesday look good. I just want to remind you to be sure to go to the top of the Arc de Triumph. The views are amazing and you get pictures of the city with the Eiffel Tower in it. Plus it is free with your Musuem Pass, and there is a fantasitc gift shop near the top with higher end suvineers. A few suggestions on your last two days. You need to block out one whole day for Versallies and just plan dinner in the evening. Versailles is not just the palace but as mentioned by others the gardens plus the Trinon, Petitte Trinon, and the Hamlet. Since the Picasso Museum is closed I would move the other things you wanted to do on Friday to Thursday morning. Sacre Coure is beautiful in the sun rise. ( I appologize for my poor French spelling, I don't have my Paris Guide book with me as I'm typing.)

Agree with everyone else that if you want to go to Versailles you need a whole day. As well as the time taken to visit the palace and gardens properly, the train takes 30-40 minutes each way from central Paris depending on where you pick it up from. Also the Louvre is HUGE, don't expect to be able to see anything more than a fraction of the collection in one visit. The Picasso Museum is definitely still closed: check before you go to see if it's opened. If you like art of that era I'd visit the Modern Art Museum at the Pompidou Centre instead, but that's also very big.

I actually think it's good to miss "fountain days". I will never go on a fountain day ever again. I love Versailles, have been 20+ times, but imo the fountains are nothing special. Plus, the place is way more crowded and they blare very loud music over a very bad sound system on fountain days - it was very annoying.

susan and I agree about "fountain show days" I had been about 6 or 7 times before I went on a fountain show day, what a hullaboo about not much in my opinion. The shows do not run all day , in fact they are few and far between , you have to run from area to area as only a few fountains can run at once( as it was originally, the old water system cannot run them all at once) The crowds are increased, the price is increased, and the "music" component is just tinny sounding taped music .. sorry , it was only a "just ok" experience for me and the extra crowds and expense knocked into the "not worth it" to me category.. to each his own of course.
I now know to avoid those days and happily do .