Italy

Is Italy Europe's most overrated tourist destination, or just its most overpriced? It is famous for its many canals, its renaissance art, its ancient ruins, and for having the largest church in the world. But look at it this way: Central America has ancient ruins, more churches than you can shake a stick at, and the largest canal in the world, and you can probably tour Central America for six weeks for the price of a single bad cappucino in St Marks Square. All that leaves is Renaissance art, and what's great about that? They learned perspective. Amazing. Literally millions of kids learn that every year in school.

But that doesn't give Italy the credit it deserves.Any nation that can convince the world that their version of a cheese and tomato toastie is cuisine surely has something going for it? Italy is worth a visit, just once, and if only so you can be rude and sarcastic about it.So your wallet will be emptied quicker than you can say "But I never ordered bread". So what? You'll also get to see the Colliseum, a grand, if not well preserved testament to the brutality of the Roman people. You'll get to stare up at the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, avoiding the evil dwarf security guards and taking sneaky photos as you go. You'll see some of the most beautiful cliffs in the world, even as the bus you're on threatens to fall off the edge of them. And you'll see Pompeii, a Roman town which was simultaneously ravaged and preserved by an erupting volcano so perfectly that you can almost see the look of suprise on the inhabitants' fossilized faces.

So, overpriced certainly, but overrated? Maybe not.