Where to Go in Europe, and How to Stay Safe

And on Booking.com, the average daily rate for a hotel in Paris has increased to $261 a night this year from $245 a night last year.

Travel specialists also report that bookings to the city are increasing. Jack Ezon, the president of the New York City-based consultancy Ovation Vacations, said that in the last month alone, he has had 45 bookings for coming trips to Paris compared with 10 total in the three months before that.

Italy Isn't for Bargain Hunters The only other destination with high prices that match those in Paris, according to Virtuoso's data, is Italy, where the average daily rate at a luxury hotel is $1,016. Andrea Grisdale, the owner of IC Bellagio, a Lake Como-based trave l company selling trips to Italy, said that the country might not be a place to get deals in the summer season, but that changes come fall. "Coming here in the summer is pricey, but costs drop significantly starting in October, and that's actually a beautiful, less crowded time to visit," she said. A stay in a junior suite at the upscale Palazzo del Vice Re in Lake Como, for example, is 450 euros ($510) a night in July; the same room in October is €390, and guests get a fourth night free.

Belgium Is Hurting The terrorist attacks in Brussels in March have negatively affected tourism to Belgium this summer, according to Mickey Creyf, the chief executive of BTS Travel Group, an Antwerp-based agency specializing in travel within Belgium. "We are suffering badly," he said. "The restaurants and hotels are empty because there is a fear factor to coming here."

This downturn has an upside when it comes to prices — Mr. Creyf said there are deals to be had. "We want your business so everything is cheaper than it ever was. Hotel rates are 40 percent lower, and eating out is much less expensive, too," he said.

Also, the country's many cultural attractions like the well-preserved medieval city of Bruges, and Rubenshuis, the museum in Antwerp dedicated to the Flemish Baroque painter Peter Paul Rubens, aren't overwhelmed with visitors as they have been. For travelers, this means fewer long lines or crowds to contend with.

Spain and Portugal Are Value Destinations The average daily rate at a Virtuoso partner hotel in Spain is $657; in Portugal, that number is $338, or 57 percent lower than the average in Europe. In fact, the only country with lower rates is Poland, where the average is $300 a night.

Both Spain and Portugal are good values in the peak summer season, said Virginia Irurita, the founder of Made for Spain and Portugal, a Madrid-based company selling trips to the two countries. "Your money stretches a lot more now than it did as recently as two years ago."

For example, the average nightly rate for a hotel in Madrid this year is an affordable $150 on Booking.com, and at Finca Cortesin, a luxury resort in Spain's Costa del Sol region with a golf course, spa, four swimming pools and a Michelin-starred Japanese restaurant, Kabuki Raw, it's possible to snag a room starting at €500 a night this summer. A stay includes an array of amenities such as a multicourse breakfast, bottled water, valet parking, golf shoe cleaning and access to the spa and beach club.

The bigger steal, however, is Portugal. Ms. Irurita said a weeklong trip to the country with her company for two people, including luxury hotel stays, guided tours in Lisbon and Porto, a train ticket from Lisbon to Porto and a daylong excursion to the Douro Valley with wine tastings at two wineries, is around €3,000.

Airfares Are the Lowest They've Been Since the Recession Rick Seaney, the co-founder of the airline ticket comparison website FareCo mpare.com, said a round-trip ticket in late June from the East Coast to several cities in Europe, including Lisbon, Dublin, Oslo, Copenhagen, Frankfurt, Moscow and Milan, was around $800. "These fares are unusually low, but low fuel costs and competition among airlines has brought prices down," he said.

On the other hand, the most expensive destinations to fly to in late June from the East Coast are London, Paris and Rome, with round-trip prices starting upward of $1,000 a ticket.

And it's possible to plan your trip at the last minute, Mr. Seaney said. "You can buy tickets as late as two weeks before departure and still get good rates," he said.

No Single Destination Is Unsafe But …Tim Horner, the head of the security risk management practice at the security firm Kroll, said that no destination in Europe is off-limits when it comes to safety, but there is a caveat: "There isn't a particular country that travelers should avoid, but overall, there is an elevated threat related to terrorism," he said. "The intelligence from several sources indicates warnings, more than in previous years, about the possibility of terrorist attacks throughout Europe."

Don't Be Afraid, Be Aware A potentially higher chance of an attack doesn't mean that travelers should be fearful of going to Europe, Mr. Horner said, but they should be aware. He advises avoiding crowded areas such as concert halls and stadiums and having an exit strategy in place if you do go. Knowing how to get around the city you're in, emailing your itinerary and copies of your travel documents, including your passport, to family mem bers, and limiting the amount of personal information you carry (no need to tote along all your credit cards) are other safety tips. (For more ideas on safety precautions, see a March 30, 2016, article, "Is Europe Safe for Travelers," in The New York Times.

Hotels, in particular, are trying to keep their guests safe, according to Scott D. Berman, a principal in hospitality and leisure at PricewaterhouseCoopers. "Properties in Europe are taking extra security measures now such as employing unmarked security personnel in their lobbies and training their employees to be on the lookout for suspicious activity," he said.

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