dma_va,
I spent some time in Belgium in early 1999. That time I had travelled from India and had taken business visa from Belgium consulate. They had issued then a visa called as Schengen Visa. With this visa, you can visit almost all of Europe, except the eastern Europe and UK and I think Switzerland too. The major countries that were covered are Belgium, Holland, Portugal, Spain, Germany, Luxemborg, Italy, France, etc. My visa was such that once I left these group of countries I could not return i.e. single entry, but within these countries I could travel as I liked. So I think you should go to the consulate of the country that will be your POE and take the visa. Let's hope it's a Schengen visa.
Due to the work pressures, I could only visit Keukinof Gardens (?) at Holland - these are Tulip Gardens and are made famous for the first time (?) in the movie Silsila. To summarize, Europe is beautiful and do take the chance of visiting it, if you have the time and money.
Enjoy..