The lights are still on at the Eiffel Tower. They keep ringing up sales at Prada in Rome, and London is getting ready to start partying for about a year and a half, beginning with the April 29 wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton at Westminster Abbey.

All in all, you wouldn't know that Europe has suffered through an economic crisis as brutal as ours, because strong social programs in the social democracies we love to visit — England, Italy and France — keep people at work, which is part of the problem. Governments that don't have the resources to pay for such programs — Portugal, Ireland, Greece and Spain — have needed bailouts from neighbors, generating ill will and doomsday scenarios about the impending collapse of the European Union. If you think that's of marginal interest to tourists, you've forgotten what it was like to travel on the Continent before the advent of open borders and a single currency.

It's worth thinking about as you plan your trip, though nobody expects the EU to unravel this year. "Europe is an evolution, for 60 years going two steps forward and one step back," says Europe travel expert Rick Steves. "We always hear about the stumbles. But I can't imagine the euro zone falling apart."

Here's what you'll need to know about trips to Europe this year: Priced to go If you've always wanted to visit Portugal, Ireland, Iceland, Greece, Spain, Romania or Bulgaria, 2011 is the year to go. That's because these countries were hit hardest by the recession, forcing some travel providers to "try to create demand through value pricing," says Jerre Fuqua, president of Travcoa, based in El Segundo.

At the same time, the governments of these nations are increasing efforts to support tourism, creating new options and incentives for travelers. Iceland, laid low in recent times by a bank collapse and a volcanic eruption, has set the standard, enticing travelers to a once extremely expensive destination by ramping up air and tour package deals, says Jan Rudomina, U.S. chairman of the European Travel Commission.

Hard times in the most economically distressed countries of Europe resulted in protests and strikes last year, which turned violent in Greece, though tourists were marginally affected. "I was just in Athens and didn't feel it was in crisis," Steves says. "For a visitor, I'd say the troubles are almost unnoticeable."

Hotel prices are rock bottom in Prague, Czech Republic; Budapest, Hungary; and Madrid, with southern European capitals such as Lisbon, Rome and Athens still somewhat below normal, according to Colliers PKF Consulting, a hotel industry research firm. On the other end of the spectrum, rates are sky high in Geneva, Stockholm, London, Moscow and Oslo, Norway.

In other words, hotel bargains are to be had where you least expect them, but not always where you most want to go. As ever, France is the world's favorite travel destination, visited by almost 99 million people in 2010, according to the U.N. World Tourism Organization; in second and third places were the U.S. and China, which bumped Spain off the list last year.