While thousands of tourists flock to beloved cities like Amsterdam, London, and Paris, the “Venice of the North” is less crowded and just as beautiful.

With the dollar now at a multi-week high against a sinking euro, European travel is looking evermore affordable. And since Fodor's readers have just picked the best spots in Europe for Value in 2012, we’ve taken the top five choices—Spain, Austria, Ireland, Greece, and Belgium—and zeroed in on outstanding deals and attractions in each of them.

Think of Belgium, and you'll probably first think of Brussels (followed swiftly by waffles, frites, and diamonds). But there are plenty of other cities well worth seeing. We promise there will still be waffles.