Episode Nine of Belderbos - The Square Nail Returns - saw the Kapitein Zeppos production move briefly to one of the most famous tourist sites in Belgium: the Grand Place in Brussels' city centre. Doubling as a town market, the film crew clearly attempted to hide the true locale in which they were filming. There are no wide, establishing shots to set the scene (possibly due to the fact that their town market scene comprised just one flower-seller's stall!), but close inspection of the sequence reveals the distinctive facade of The House of the Dukes of Brabant lurking surreptitiously in the background.

The Grand Place is situated in the Lower Town area of Brussels, which was the original area of settlement in the city, dating back to the Middle Ages. With the exception of a North to South boulevard that was cut through it in the Nineteenth Century, the general layout of the Lower Town, with its narrow winding streets and lofty townhouses, is mostly unchanged since medieval times. It remains, despite the massive expansion of Brussels, the spiritual centre of the city.

The majority of the buildings in the Lower Town date from the Eighteenth Century, during which time the city was rebuilt following a catastrophic bombardment of Brussels by the French in 1695. The attack lasted just 36 hours, but large swathes of Brussels' medieval legacy were lost forever in that short time. Today, only small sections of the Hotel de Ville and a guildhouse or two in the Grand Place date back to before the French attack. The remainder was rebuilt in the flamboyant Baroque architectural style and survive to this day as one of the most celebrated examples of the movement.

The Grand Place is a great draw for tourists and residents alike. It continues to host a daily flower market and, in the August of even-numbered years, is decorated by local florists with an impressive and colourful carpet of flowers. The square even played host to the 1968 International Final of the fondly remembered Jeux Sans Frontieres.

If you've visited Brussels but haven't seen the Grand Place, then you really haven't seen Brussels at all!