Europe's top 5 overrated sights

The Most Overrated & Disappointing Sights

The following sights probably won't live up to your expectations. They are all famous, and all something less than what youd hoped for. Yes, this is an entirely subjective list, and you may very well disagree with me, but I put these to you just in case you might be wavering on whether to spend valuable vacation time on what could turn out to be a dull experience.

• Changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace. Yawn. And don't think "But it'll be fun for the kids!" I first attended this at the age of 12, and it was dull then, too.
• Athens. The Acropolis, Agora, and Archeological Museum are all musts, but the city itself is dirty, crowded, and boring. Plus it's a Herculean task to get there—if you don't fly, it's three days by train and ferry. If you're heart is set on Greece, plan to spend just a day or two in Athens itself to get in the top sights, but much more time exploring the fascinating interior of Greece and/or lazing about the islands. (Now I'll just sit back and let the angry e-mails roll in about how awesome Athens truly is and what an idiot I am for not realizing it.)
• Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum, London. I have yet to understand the appeal of these insanely overpriced collections of wax dummies (or why there are now more than a dozen of these "museums" in various world capitals). Yes, the waxen celebrity mannequins look pretty realistic (though not, you know, actually alive), and yes the one in London is the original. Doesn't make it anywhere near worth £30 ($50). No, that's not a typo. They charge fifty bucks for this.
• Tourist flamenco shows in Madrid. Folk evenings set up for tourists are often poor quality and overpriced. I've recommended a few of the more authentic flamenco shows in the Madrid section, but keep in mind that these are far from the real thing, which is a spontaneous nighttime ritual whose heartland is Andalusia, not Madrid.