The Pyramids at Giza, Egypt

"You could not hear your own voice for the din that was around you." So said Mark Twain of his trip to the pyramids nearly a century and a half ago, and the throngs of tourists certainly haven't abated. It's not that the pyramids aren't impressive—even in the 19th century, they remained the planet's tallest structures. As The Contrarian Traveller says, the thing to do is simply be contrarian in the timing of your visit. (A solid pyramid scheme if there was ever one.)

Instead: Even the off-season crowds get to be too much, so make a trip on the west side of the Nile to the Valley of the Kings, where as recently as 2006 another tomb was discovered. Tour boats on the Nile do disgorge tourists here, too, but nowhere near the levels seen at the pyramids, and relatively few make their way to the West Valle