Ride the dollar: This is the summer to travel to Europe

BARCELONA—Cathie Golden takes a European vacation each year with her sister Barbara Needham and their children.

This year they chose Barcelona and Madrid. For the first time in more than a decade, the euro is almost equal in value to the dollar, making Spain and other European cities more affordable to Americans than even some domestic destinations.

"We've been shopping up a storm because of it," Golden says, showing off a new pair of sneakers. "Here you're just throwing money around."

The family stop into the Hotel Colon in the Gothic Quarter for drinks. They are surprised when two glasses of white wine and a beer cost as much as one drink in a New York City hotel. Their train tickets to Madrid are less than seats on an Amtrak train from New York to Washington, D.C. A 15-minute cab ride to the beach is 10 euros.

Golden, who lives in the New York area, has good reason to throw money around. TripAdvisor's TripIndex Europe, released last week, found that travel expenses for popular European destinations have dropped an average of 11% year-over-year. Travelers will be able to save as much as 25% on their summer trips.

"For those looking to save, Europe is a great option," says Brooke Ferencsik, director of communications for TripAdvisor, a travel booking site.

Booking.com has found that Americans may even pay less for accommodations in Europe than one in the USA.

For instance, a 14-day stay here in Barcelona can cost as much as a seven-day stay at a comparable hotel in Palm Springs, according to Booking.com's calculations.

"What may have once seemed unaffordable is now an attractive option for U.S. travelers," says Joseph Moscone, senior manager of public relations for the Americas at Booking.com. "Compared to some popular domestic destinations, Europe is actually more affordable for many travelers given the weaker euro currency."

Spain is pulling itself out of a long recession. The job market is still depressed and consumer spending is trickling back up. It's still not a completely rosy picture, but destinations make money off tourists, and in that regard, Spain is looking promising.

The Barcelona Tourism office has already seen an uptick in visitors from around the world. The number of U.S. visitors to Barcelona hotels increased 4.3% in 2014 from the previous year to 654,131, according to the Barcelona tourism board.

Seeing Spain as an opportunity, I decide to book a trip there Easter week. I find a roundtrip ticket on TAP Portugal from Newark International Airport to Barcelona for $800.80 with a connection in Porto, Portugal. I can't recall the last time I paid below $1,000 for airfare to Europe in the decade I have been traveling there annually.

When I land, I head to the Barcelona tourism office at the airport to buy the new two-day Barcelona Card Express, which entitles me to free metro and bus rides and discounts on popular attractions such as Antoni Gaudi's Basilica de la Sagrada Familia. It costs 20 euros, or a little over $21.

If you ride the metro and bus for two days straight, the card pays for itself. In one day, I take the metro five times. At 2.15 euros for each ride, I've already recouped half of what I paid for the express card.

I don't find all the discounts that rewarding. The card entitles me to a 1 euro discount at the Sagrada Familia--if I take an audio-guided tour. Admission with an audio-guided tour is 19.50 euros. Admission without one is 15 euros. I forego my 1 euro discount and go for the regular admission with my iPhone as a handy guide.

At Casa Batllo, which Gaudi redesigned in 1904, I get a 3 euro discount. At La Pedrera, a UNESCO Word Heritage site that is one of Gaudi's magnificent creations built between 1906 and 1912, I get a 20% discount.

I would have gladly paid full price for either one. They are amazing examples of architectural innovation. Walking along the rooftop of La Pedrera, which means the stone quarry, I feel as if I am on a movie set. Not surprising, considering that it has been showcased in many movies, including Woody's Allen's Vicky, Christina, Barcelona. The undulating façade stands out on the boulevard.

My admission gets me a tour of one of the apartments, which recreates the home of a Barcelona bourgeois family of the early 20th century.

In modern-day life, I am pleasantly surprised by the cost of food and drinks and hotels in Barcelona.

I splurge during my first new nights at Preferred Hotel Group's Hotel Murmuri on the bustling Rambla de Catalunya, a few minutes' walk from the Gothic Quarter and the popular La Rambla boulevard.

A night at the charming boutique hotel runs me 186 euros on Booking.com, or about $197. The average rate there is 249 euros. General manager Gemma Ravasi says bookings from American customers are up 10% over this time last year.

The hotel is near many lovely boutiques, but I pop into American Apparel in the Gothic Quarter out of curiosity. The items have tags with five different prices.

I'm surprised to see that in Europe, the shirt would run you 54 euros and in the USA, $54—which is actually about $57 at the latest exchange rate. I ask if I can pay in dollars instead of euros to save $3 but am denied.

American Apparel is being aggressive in its pricing, but clearly, the tide has turned in favor of Americans.

The exchange rate makes me more willing to spend money on activities such as a food tour with Culinary Backstreets. Paula Mourenza, a Spaniard, is my guide. The price is $135, but it is worth it, as I spend a full day eating and drinking with a local and knowledgeable expert on food.

We hit about eight different places, including La Pubilla, a Catalan restaurant. We have a traditional Catalan breakfast of an over-easy egg atop beans and sausage. It's hearty and delightful. Our tour includes a stop at a ham shop for Iberico and Serrano hams, a lunch of cod and wine drunk from a traditional porron wine pitcher, a vermoutherie to enjoy an afternoon aperitif and some olives and anchovies, and a bodega with kegs of wine. In one afternoon, I get a sense of old and new Barcelona.

MaryJo Carbonara and her daughter Alyssa have a similar experience. I meet them as they pose for photos on the Pedrera rooftop. They've been traveling around Italy and Spain for more than a week. They find the trip so affordable that they decide to take a guided tour to Tuscany. It costs about $100 a person, but they get to visit several towns.

"People say Europe is more expensive," Carbonara says. "I don't think so."