The European Soccer Experience: London & Paris

Participate in a training session led by your own coaching staff at a local field in the area.

Take an in-depth look at London, from the royal haunt of Buckingham Palace (the official London residence of Queen Elizabeth II) to the slightly more democratic Speakers’ Corner of Hyde Park, where anyone can pull up a soapbox and orate to his heart’s content. You’ll see the changing of the guard (season permitting), the clock tower of Big Ben with its 14-ton bell, and Westminster Abbey, where almost every English king and queen since William the Conqueror has been crowned. After a stop at the Houses of Parliament, continue on to the magnificent St. Paul’s Cathedral, the masterpiece of London architect Christopher Wren.

Play an international friendly match against a local club or academy team. The team will meet and compete against athletes of similar ages and skill levels, and have the opportunity to make friends for life.

Participate in a special coaching clinic with a guest coach, player or instructor. The clinic will be designed exclusively for the team and to enhance skills in areas identified by the coaching staff.

Take a behind-the-scenes stadium guided tour of one of London's five Premier League sites, Arsenal, Chelsea, Tottenham, Crystal Palace or West Ham. Most of the tours include a guided tour to visit areas such as the Director's Box, the Home and Away changing rooms, the Players' Tunnel, and the opportunity to go pitch side. Tours typically conclude with a visit to the museum or Trophy Room, followed by a visit to the club's super store.

Get up close and personal with the Tower of London. Towers, rather. Twenty stone towers, as well as tunnels, winding staircases and narrow passageways comprise this huge fortress covering 18 acres on the banks of the Thames. A royal residence from the 11th - 16th centuries, the Tower also served as a jewel safe and a prison. The headless skeletons of Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard (Henry VIII's former wives who were executed here) are believed to be buried here. The Crown Jewels are housed here, including the largest cut diamond in the world (530-carats). Beefeaters (guards) lead tours through the Tower.

Attend a professional soccer match. Seeing international players compete in person would itself be unforgettable, but add the passionate crowds singing, cheering and chanting and you will enter an atmosphere that can only be understood through personal experience. Please note that this activity is subject to availability as it is based on the league’s fixture list at the dates the group is travelling.

Take the Eurostar under the English Channel. Faster than you can say... anything, in French, you'll whiz through a tunnel and arrive in Paris.

See the city from the water on an hour-long cruise along the River Seine. The Seine cuts right through Paris, dividing the city in half. See the Eiffel tower rising up on the Left Bank, the walls of the Louvre on the Right Bank. A guide will point out other monuments and architectural marvels as you pass, many of which are illuminated by clear white light at night.

Participate in a training session led by your own coaching staff at a local field in the area.

What's that huge white arch at the end of the Champs-Élysées? The Arc de Triomphe, commissioned by Napoleon in 1806 after his victory at Austerlitz. Your licensed local guide will elaborate on this, and other Parisian landmarks. See some of the most famous sites, including the ornate, 19th-century Opera, the Presidential residence, the ultra-chic shops of the Rue du Faubourg St-Honoré, and the gardens of the Tuileries. You'll pass the Place de la Concorde, where in the center you’ll find the Obelisk of Luxor, a gift from Egypt in 1836, and the Place Vendôme, a huge square surrounded by 17th-century buildings. Spot chic locals (and tons of tourists) strolling the Champs-Élysées. Look up at the iron girders of the Eiffel Tower, built for the 1889 World's Fair to commemorate the centenary of the French Revolution. See Les Invalides (a refuge for war wounded), the École Militaire (Napoleon's alma mater), and the Conciergerie (the prison where Marie Antoinette was kept during the French Revolution).

The ultimate palace, Versailles was built by Louis XIII, and housed the royal family and its groveling court from 1682, when the Sun King moved in, to the French Revolution. Everything in Versailles is worth a look, from the 250-foot-long Hall of Mirrors, with themed salons- "war" and "peace" -on either side, to Marie Antoinette's faux country hamlet. When being a queen became too much to bear, she would pretend to be a commoner, tending her sheep and wearing peasant clothes. (Please note Versailles is closed on Mondays.)

Play an international friendly match against a local club or academy team. The team will meet and compete against athletes of similar ages and skill levels, and have the opportunity to make friends for life.