WORLD-WISE : NEWS AND TIPS SOCCER GUIDE.

Byline: - Daily News Wire Services

With the United States one of the 32 soccer teams to qualify for the 1998 World Cup, American fans are expected to flock to France during the competition from June 10 to July 12. In anticipation, Rough Guides, which specializes in guidebooks to destinations that are off the beaten track, has just published ``A Rough Guide to European Football: A Fan's Handbook.'' The 608-page book, by Peterjon Presswell and Simon Evans, covers World Cup sites, all of Europe's major soccer clubs and hotels in many cities.

Restoring Abbey calm

Westminster Abbey will begin charging admission next month in an effort to control crowds. At the moment there is an entrance fee of $7 to the Royal Chapel and Poets' Corner, but none to enter the nave, which houses the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior.

Canon David Hutt emphasizes that ``real pilgrims'' still will have access to the church. ``Anyone who wants to sit quietly or say a prayer will not be subjected to the third degree,'' he said. ``But we are in danger of being overwhelmed and need to safeguard what is precious about the abbey.''

With the number of daily visitors reaching as many as 16,000 in summer, it is no surprise that crowd control is a problem in this small building. By midday, tour guides shout to be heard, producing ``an unacceptable noise, rather like a railway station concourse,'' according to Hutt.

The problem escalated when Eurostar trains began arriving daily from Paris, bringing a surge in day-trippers, who often use the Abbey as a meeting point before heading back across Westminster Bridge to Waterloo Station. During a trial period last summer called Recovering the Calm, the abbey managed to reduce visitor traffic by one third and noise levels by 50 percent.

Westminster Abbey is open from 9 a.m. to 4:45 p.m Monday to Friday (last admission at 3:45 p.m.), 9 a.m. to 2:45 p.m. Saturday (last admission 1:45 p.m.); the abbey is open only for services on Sunday.

As of March 11, admission will be $8.75; $5.25 for students and seniors; $3.50 ages 11 to 16. Children under 11 are free. Family tickets for two adults and two children are $17.50.

Also beginning on March 11, visitors no longer will enter the abbey through the west door of the nave but will use the north entrance into the north transept.

Puccini in the palace

``Turandot,'' the Puccini opera about a Chinese princess who spurns love, is scheduled to be performed in the Forbidden City in Beijing Sept. 5-13. Zubin Mehta will conduct the orchestra and chorus of the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino in the production by the Teatro Comunale of Florence.

Tentatively scheduled to appear in the cast are Maria Guleghina, Audrey Stottler and Sharon Sweet alternating as Turandot, Lando Bartolini, Gegam Grigorian and Kristjan Johannsson as Calaf and Barbara Hendricks, Barbara Frittoli and Cristina Gallardo-Domas as Liu. The event is part of a series presented by Opera on Original Site, which is headed by Michael W. Ecker, the Geneva-based impresario.

At least three American travel agencies are offering tickets to the opera as part of tours ranging from five to 18 nights. Shorter packages tend to concentrate on Beijing, offering hotel accommodations and cocktail parties in addition to the performance. Included in most of the longer packages are visits to the Great Wall and the Ming Tombs, and stays in Shanghai, Xian, Guilin and Hong Kong.

Not all prices have been announced, and there are many packages. But one 12-night package with seats for the opera in the least-expensive section of the palace starts at $5,550, double occupancy, including round-trip air fare from the West Coast. Information: Abercrombie and Kent of Chicago, [phone]; Dailey-Thorp Travel of New York, [phone]; and Esplanade Tours of Boston, [phone].