Faedus

I'm writing only in response to a note a little above ("KayF"), and only for the benefit of people who have considered travelling to Spain but who may be put off by that note. My advice is, don't be put off. I've made several great trips to Spain, though my approach has been a bit different from that of most tourists -- I've always travelled during the "off-season" (Nov. or Dec.), and even then I've concentrated on quaint, historic but less-visited cities and towns (e.g., Zamora, Caceres, Teruel). On these trips I have never encountered any "undercurrent of violence," or anti-tourist graffiti. Now, I haven't been to Granada, and I happen to know that next to the beach resorts it is one of Spain's most "heavy-duty" tourist destinations. I can imagine there may be residents who could be getting a little fed up with it all (maybe people who can barely afford their rents because of the AirB&B phenomenon).
Anyway, we still don't know how much of this graffiti they saw, or whether it might have been done by one person, or a tiny group; or whether the graffiti writers had legitimate grievances, or were just dumb kids on a lark. Or even what, specifically, contributed to that perceived "undercurrent of violence." My purpose is not to "debunk" another's personal impressions, but only to point out that I've found Spain to be a great country to visit (hence those several visits), and to encourage those who are considering a first visit to Spain, to carry on.
(I haven't been to Belgium, but as a news reader, I'll agree with KayF that all that "EU stuff" can get boring at times!)

danon

Loved every place I visited in Spain…Madrid. and Barcelona ( a number of times ) Girona, Sidges, Tarragona, Granada, Seville, Cordoba,, Malaga, Zaragoza, Valencia, Santander, Bilbao, Salamanca, San Sebastián., Toledo, Segovia..and more.

I like being out at night…never felt unsafe.

Brussels and Bruges are interesting ..visited each twice.

.

HappyTrvlr

We loved our time in Alsace but did not like Colmar. We stayed in Strasbourg and a wine village,Riquewihr, and loved those choices.

zebec

Hi Victoria,
Lots of interesting advice above. And some posters have admitted to how subjective such input can be.
Just tryna think outside the box for a minute here, on your behalf. Maybe sound your friends out regarding the possibility of selecting one less-trodden town or village within Country Three to sandwich between your 2 other stated countries. France, Spain and Portugal are great countries for finding such a spot.

A savvy traveler once described such places as, "A vacation from your vacation." My wife and I have found that it is possible after research, to not only find such havens, but to experience them as great added-value in and of themselves.
Bon Chance
I am done. The endless choices