Visit the in-between.  The meeting place between Latin and Germanic cultures, Belgium has two major regions and a million things to see on tour.  Enjoy Dutch-speaking Flanders or French-speaking Wallonia, and gaze at interesting Art Nouveau architecture in the land of surrealist master Magritte.  Belgium’s enthralling history can take you back to the Middle Ages or to heartbreaking battlegrounds of both World Wars.  The landscape between beautiful cities is dotted with hills and forests and even sandy beaches.  The home of Jacques Brel and Audrey Hepburn boasts exciting festivals and carnivals just waiting for your ensemble to join, and for adult ensembles, a celebratory beer comes in more varieties here than anywhere else on earth.  Don’t be fooled.  Beglium isn’t boring; it just can’t be defined.

Grand-Place, Brussels:  All but the Grand-Place’s Hôtel de Ville was destroyed by a bombardment in 1695 and rebuilt in the old style.  It remains the central market square of Brussels, even today, the meeting place of ornament and function.  The beautiful king’s house operates as a city museum, and, in typically indefinable Belgian fashion, at the right time of year, you’ll find an enormous carpet of begonias adorning the whole square.

Manneken Pis:  Was he a spy?  An unlikely firefighter?  Flemish for “little pee man,” the Mannekin Pis is one tiny statue surrounded by tons of local legend.  This 17th-century statue of a little boy urinating into a fountain has over 800 items of clothing to suit every occasion, embodying the silly charm and serious history that make up the subtly rebellious spirit of Brussels.