Going To South Padre? Leave Your Tie At Home

If Dad cherishes his new Father’s Day ties, don’t let him take them on vacation to South Padre Island - where wearing a tie is now illegal.

According to a recent proclamation adopted by the Texas Gulf Coast resort town, local police will give first offenders a written warning - and a free T-shirt (to assist them “in adjusting to the correct attire and lifestyles of the island”).

If you get caught a second time, though, you’ll be fined “the amount of a fine silk tie,” and the offending neckwear will be confiscated and destroyed.

Eurostar passenger train service through the Channel Tunnel has increased from 14 to 17 daily round-trips between Paris and London, according to Rail Europe, which books Eurostar travel. On Fridays, 19 trips are now available.

With the repair of damage from a fire last November, the scheduled time for the London-Paris trip has returned to three hours. Also, London-Brussels service has been increased to eight daily trips, up from seven.

Information: 800-387-6782 or http://www.raileurope.com

Getting discounted tickets to cultural performances and other shows in Washington just became more convenient with the relocation of TICKETplace, the city’s half-price, day-of-show ticket office, to the Old Post Office Pavilion at 12th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue N.W.

The new site is nearer the Smithsonian museums and other Mall attractions than the old location at Lisner Auditorium.

TICKETplace offers discounted tickets to 60 institutions and is sponsored by the Cultural Alliance of Greater Washington and the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

The office is open Tuesday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Information: 202-842-5387.

Street sales for Winter Olympic tickets began last month at about 2,000 ticket centers in Japan, following mail-in lottery sales in previous months. Altogether, about 600,000 tickets are available in Japan, and 200,000 others are slated for purchase abroad.

In the United States, Cartan Tours is the official ticket agent.

The games will take place next year in Nagano, Japan, Feb. 7-22.

For a Cartan brochure, write Cartan Tours Olympic Division, 1334 Parkview Ave., Suite 210, Manhattan Beach, Calif. 90266; phone: 800-818-1998 or 800-545-1996.

Budget-minded computer users can find a wealth of hosteling information at their fingertips via the new Web site of Hostelling International-American Youth Hostels. The site provides a virtual guide to each hostel’s locale, with tourist information as well as hotel rates and locations. The address: http://www.hiayh.org