Marc Atchison is drawn to Brussels main square, the Grand Place, and discovers it's ringed by amazing architecture and lots of glorious history.

BARCELONA - Outside my window, Europe is whizzing past. First Holland, then Belgium … France … Switzerland … Italy … Spain. Small towns, their church spires sticking up like pins on a map, pass by in the blink of the eye.

BRUSSELS, BELGIUM – This is not just the capital of the European Union and Belgium, it’s also the fun capital of Europe. And that’s thanks mainly to the city’s cartoon culture.

SPA, BELGIUM – My heart begins to race as our driver points his mini-van in the direction of a long, narrow tunnel that separates reality from the fast-paced, romantic world of Formula 1 Grand Prix auto racing.

WATERLOO, BELGIUM – The intermittent rain and icy wind doesn’t seem to be dampening the spirit of the thousands marching toward one of history’s greatest battlefields. Souad Mimouni, the Belgian friend who has driven me to this quaint town just 12 kilometres from downtown Brussels to view a reenactment of the Battle of Waterloo, parks her car and we join the march.

It was while exploring the labyrinth of narrow streets that run off this city’s handsome main square, the Grand Place, that I was lured down an alley by the sight of two men sitting at a table sipping beer.