Brussels

I really hated Brussles. 4 nights there felt like a life sentence.

Only because your expectations were still high even after you read all the naysayers
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/belgium/bruges-first-or-brussels

I do get that I am responsible for my own disappointment. I thought I could take it, to give myself a shorter return journey, but I was wrong. Listen to the experts next time.

It was the excessive graffiti that bothered me the most. But, oh, the food was
so terrific!

I've been to Brussels twice, this year and in 2017. I don't know where you stayed and what you did, but I had completely different experiences to what you describe. I've noticed negative comments about Brussels in this forum, I think they're way off base. There are interesting museums, delightful walks, good public transport, great places to eat and people watch. I'm sorry you had such a negative experience.

I posted info about where we stayed and ate in the hotel and restaurant review forum.

Glad others had a better experience than I did. I suppose there is no city that is totally awful or totally wonderful. But Brussels isn't a place I will ever return.

I am sorry to hear that your experience was so disappointing. I lived in Brussels for a year a while back and found it to be a fine cosmopolitan city with excellent art museums, a wide array of cuisines to enjoy, good public transportation, and fine historical and modern architecture. In fact, Brussels developed its own style of Art Nouveau town house architecture, led by Victor Horta, and there are many stunning examples to be enjoyed.