Ah, to Be Young and in Paris

Student-style travelers visiting France this year can find lodging and tourist information from several helpful sources.

If you drop into the tourist information office at 127 avenue des Champs-Elysees, a short walk south of the Arc de Triomphe, you can pick up a free copy of “Youth in Paris.” It’s a 31-page booklet detailing what to see in the city and how to do it, and includes a subway map plus emergency telephone numbers.

Another source for assistance is the Accueil des Jeunes (AJF), an accommodation booking service that can reserve beds in Paris or other areas of France, in youth centers and budget hotels, for a fee of $1.60.

Although the AJF is geared to travelers under 26, there is no age limit for using its accommodation booking service.

The AJF has 8,000 beds available in Paris in the winter and 11,000 in the summer. The AJF also operates its own hostel near the Bastille, as well as three restored townhouses.

Rates for beds in Paris start at $16 a night and rise depending on the facility and how many people share a room.

AJF offices are at 16 rue du Pont Louis-Philippe, tel. (from the U.S.) 011-33-1-42-78-04-82; 119 rue St. Martin, tel. 011-33-1-42-77-87-80; 139 boulevard St.-Michel, tel. 011- 33-1-43-54-95-86 (open March to October), and Gare du Nord rail station, tel. 011-33-1-42-85-86-19 (open June to October).

One of the centers into which the AJF can book guests is FIAP Jean Monet, a 550-bed, 25-year-old youth hotel that was renovated two years ago. Individuals are charged $40 for a single room, $26 per person in a double room, about $25 in a four-bed room and $20 in an eight-bed room.

The popular student travel guide “Let’s Go: Europe” (St. Martin’s Press), which lists more than 50 budget accommodation facilities in Paris, says FIAP Jean Monet rooms are “well-furnished,” “all with toilet and shower . . . impeccably maintained.” It also warns that it’s full in summer with tour groups, has a three-night maximum stay and reservations are essential.

FIAP Jean Monet is at 30 rue Canabis, tel. 011-33-1-45-89-89-15 or fax 011-33-145-81-63-91.

The AJF offices in Paris can also help you prearrange accommodations in other areas of France. This year, for example, much attention will focus on the Normandy area for D-Day anniversary events. The AJF can book accommodations into a youth center in that area, in the city of Caen.

On June 6, 50 years after the landings by the Allied nations, seven heads of state and 30,000 veterans, dignitaries and representatives will gather at the Caen Memorial to commemorate the 50th anniversary of D-Day.

The special events are not limited to that date, however. Activities are scheduled from April until October. For example, on May 14-15, 1940 vintage cars will rally on the invasion beaches; approximately 200 of the vehicles are expected to parade through the town center, gathering at the Caen Memorial.

According to a recent French government survey, travelers between the ages of 15 and 25 represented 10% of the visitors to France. To help service this segment of the market, 54 private and nonprofit businesses banded together to form an organization called Le Club Francais du Tourisme de Jeunes. CFTJ members, which include accommodation services, holiday centers, language study programs, holiday activity programs, theme parks and museums, publish a brochure called “France, Youth, Travel” that describes their services. A new edition is scheduled for publication later this year.

For more information, contact the French Government Tourist Office, 9454 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 715, Beverly Hills 90212-2967; tel. (900) 990-0040 (calls cost 50 per minute).