Paris 3-4 days

I would recommend that you buy the Rick Steves' Paris 2009 guidebook either at your local bookstore or through the Travel Store on the tab at the top of this page! Rick's guide books have all sorts of information to make your trip go more smoothly and great things to see and do including day trips for the surrounding areas.

For your age group, I would recommend the Let's Go series or the Rough Guide over Rick Steves. Rick writes more for an older age demographic, with presumably more money available. Let's Go is written especially for students and young adults on a tighter budget. Rick will give you a great overview of history, art and culture, but won't have much information on nightlife and partying.

I'd second what Tom says: look to Rough Guide, Let's Go or Lonely Planet if you're college age. While Rick's guides are great, they assume a style of travel that isn't quite as frugal and "raw" or youthful as you seem to seek. He goes after the "gung-ho-gotta-see-sights-and-not-slow-down" method, which is good for sightseeing-minded U.S. travelers who have limited time to see things.

But that doesn't quite seem like what you're trying to achieve - thus why the other three guides would likely be best.

Also: look to TripAdvisor for hotel and hostel reviews, and pay attention to the location of things.

If you want to be up late and party, you'd do well to stay in the Latin Quarter. The Rue Mouffetard in the 5th Arrondisement has a lively scene well into the night, and skews younger due to the colleges in the area (Sorbonne and others). There are ample Metro stops in the area to connect you to the other areas of the city where the big art museums are, but you'll see art in all kinds of places around Paris.

Good luck!

Check out the Young and Happy Hostel in the Latin Quarter - it's in a great location and there are several bars nearby. The Louvre and D'Orsay are also within walking distance. Also lots of bakeries and food markets to grab a quick cheap meal.

http://www.youngandhappy.fr/

Bugeurope.com and hostelworld.com are also good websites to check for hostel reviews.

After you see the major sights of Paris, the Paris Catacombs are worth a visit and the Musee de l'erotisme in Pigalle (not far from the Moulin Rouge) is lots of fun.

Check out the HostelWorld website. You will find reviews of hostels there - maybe some more info on what to do, too. If you like art, then also look at the Paris Museum Pass site. The Pass is a good deal if you plan to go to several museums - and there are so many really good ones, just choose what type of art, what period, and go. And you can start drinking any time - you will see the locals with their early morning coffee and brandy in every cafe.

I'll put in another good word for the Lonely Planet Paris guidebook. A new edition was published in October so it is hot off the press. (If it's as good as my 2004 edition, it will serve you well.)

Suggestion: Go to the library and/or a bookstore and thumb through the Paris guidebooks you'll find there. Then buy the newest edition of the one(s) you like best.

I prefer www.hostelz.com over hostelworld or tripadvisor - it seems more honest, and all of the hostels I found there lived up to the recommendations. In Paris, I stayed at Le Village in Montmartre. It was not in a very nice area, and it is not the cleanest hostel I stayed in, but it was reasonably priced, had free breakfast, and the staff were very friendly. Le Village is not very far from Moulin Rouge, and there are clubs and bars in that area.
If you like art, then obviously the Louvre and Orsay are must-sees, but I LOVED l'Orangerie - it is a collection of Monet's Waterlilies and a small Impressionist gallery, and it was absolutely breath-taking, plus way less crowded than the other two big museums. The Rodin Museum was excellent as well.

I will mention France's museum of modern technology and Science : Cite des Sciences et de l'Industrie, located in Parc de la Villette. Because it is not mentioned in Rick Steves' books. A METRO train goes to there, to Porte de la Villette. Or ride in a boat on Canal St-Martin and Canal de l'Ourcq north to Parc de la Villette. Read about Canal St-Martin, and Cite des Sciences et de l'Industrie, in the book "THE ROUGH GUIDE to FRANCE" (Tenth Edition). Also, to acquire knowledge of, and an appreciation for Paris, read the book "Rick Steves' PARIS 2009". I think a good book to bring to Paris is "PARIS Smart Guide" from Insight Guides. That book is new this year. That book is small, thin, light weight, it has a good map of the METRO trains stations in Paris, and a good assortment of recommended eateries, and very many color photographs of all kinds of things in Paris. That book has a good table of contents.