Cairo may be closer than you think: the Pyramids of Giza. Photo / Getty
Cairo may be closer than you think: the Pyramids of Giza. Photo / Getty
They say those who can't handle disappointment should never meet your heroes.
The same goes for ticking the great sites on the holiday bucket list.
The Pyramids of Giza for example; they appear in the minds eye, oblique and mysterious shrouded in sand at the end of a journey ofa lifetime. You've seen them in movies and the carefully doctored instagram snaps of intrepid travellers.
If they are disappointed about it, they are remaining as tight lipped as the Great Sphinx.
The reality is far less romantic. For those who have visited the great Egyptian tombs may have been gravely disappointed.
Here are a few sites (and disappointing sights) you may wish to cross off without visiting.
Some things are better left to the imagination.
Disappointment: Mona Lisa. Photo / Pedro Firera, Getty
Mona Lisa, Paris
You're in Paris. For the first time I'm guessing? You eagerly traipse off to the Louvre but it seems all the world and its missus beaten you there.
The Tiny 30 by 20 inches of five hundred year of canvas, may not be what you were expecting. Behind layers of bullet-proof and flash proof glass, not to mention the barrage of visitors, you may find that Mona's smile is less enigmatic an more infuriating.
By all means go, but spend the majority of your time in the rest of the gallery's 649,999 square feet of floor space.
Henged in: the famous stone monument is skirted by the busy A303 road. Photo / Getty
Stone henge, Salisbury
Perhaps you are planning a trip to England? Visiting in time for the summer solstice, and you plan to see the Stone Henge.
The riddle of the druids, giant stone megaliths set defiantly against the epic rolling fields of the Salisbury planes.
Prepare for a disappointment.
The fields aren't the only thing rolling through the planes, as the sound of traffic is never far.
The A303 passes within 200 meters of the ancient site, and is always at a standstill. The motorway closes to a single lane and drivers rubber neck at the monument on their way between London and south east England. Though this is probably not how you intended to see the henge.
If you want to see spectacular megaliths and stone circles the UK is littered with them.
If henge's are the sort of thing that rock your world, instead consider a visit Orkney in the Scottish isles. Supposedly the epicentre of stone circles, it is home to some 20 stone monuments and circles including the beautifully situated Ring of Brodga. Though getting there is a little less convenient than hopping on the A303.
The Empire State lost out on its title in the '70s, though it's still quite a sight. Photo /Gary Hershorn, Getty
Empire state building
Definitely an architectural monument that is better appreciated from afar. The view from the observation deck is stunning but it's long since been crowded out from the skyline of the concrete jungle.
It lost the title of tallest building in the world, and subsequently tallest building in New York during the 1970s. Tickets to the observation deck cost between $20-30 - a flat rate that seems to be the same as entry to either the One World observation deck or scenically positioned Rockefeller.
The smart money is on Top of the Rock, which offers sweeping views of Central park and the Empire State.
