The 10 worst tourist attractions in Europe The Astronomical Clock, Prague. Picture: Socialmediamonitor, Flickr Source: Supplied Buckingham Palace. Picture: Peter Shaw Source: Supplied THEY are the attractions so incredibly lame they make Justin Bieber seem totally awesome in comparison. Many of them involve large crowds, extortionate costs, boredom, anger, fire, brimstone and biblical plague-style annoyance when you realise that you have paid, waited and pushed in your desperation to see something that turned out to be thoroughly ordinary. On the plus side, once the initial experience is out of the way there are some fantastic moments to be had watching the faces of eager tourists as they stand there lost in confusion staring down some of the world's worst tourist attractions. It's only hilarious because you were in the exact same position yourself moments before ... Here are the top 10 snooze-worthy spots in Europe: Astronomical Clock, Prague (pictured above) This one's hilarious; the clock itself is beautiful and well worth a look but what draws the MASSIVE crowd of tourists every hour is the world-famous 'performance'. Tourists gather with baited breath, cameras at the ready (pickpockets have a field day with all the distracted tourists) and when the so eagerly anticipated moment actually occurs it's about as exciting as being a tax accountant. A few tiny metal men shake their heads from side to side, some revolving doors open and close, there are a few shaky symbol crashes and ... actually that's pretty much it. But here's the good part: watching people's faces when the show's over. Priceless ... Anger, laughter and grunts of annoyance all smothered in a thick coat of confusion. I actually saw a guy who was so angry that he shook his fist at the clock! How furious do you have to be to shake your fist at something, especially an inanimate object like a clock? Anyway, the attraction is awful but the reactions are worth waiting for. The Mona Lisa, Paris This more or less sums up the Mona Lisa experience: First, you have to live long enough to get to the front of the Louvre's entrance line (the old people you see in the museum were all young when they started lining up). There are other entrances that for some reason most people just don't use - instead they line up in the hot sun for HOURS. Once you've fought your way into the Louvre building, spent 30 minutes deciphering the cryptic visitor map and elbowed your way through packs of slavering tourists, you finally stumble into the pumping throng of people in the room housing the Mona Lisa who at first glance are all standing around looking at a blank wall ... on closer inspection you can see a painting. If you squint. The Mona Lisa/Louvre Museum essential item checklist: Full protective riot gear, including Perspex shield and Kevlar vest Magnifying glass - so you can see the painting Camera with telescopic lens - so you can photograph the painting Ball of string, so you can find your way out of the Louvre before your next birthday Egyptologist to help with deciphering the hieroglyphics on the visitors map Buckingham Palace, London There's a big ornate gate, a large boring building that you'd be forgiven for mistaking for a bank, and let's not forget the poor guys who have to stand around all day wearing ridiculous hats ... and ... well ... actually that's pretty much all there is to it. Honestly, the best part of Buckingham Palace is probably the fence. Royal Palace of Madrid Sorry I'm picking on palaces a little, but the appeal of looking at an overly large and often hideously decorated house is just lost on me. While more ornately presented than its English counterpart (Madrid 1 - London 0), Madrid's royal palace is just as effective at making you think: "ummm, cool, is that it?." There's another rather nice fence to stand behind, a big pompous building and swarms of confused tourists, which is fun, but unfortunately no silly hats to be seen at all. London 1 - Madrid 1. The Royal Palace of Madrid. Picture: Alreza, Flickr Source: Supplied The Botanical Timekeeper, Geneva This snore-inducing site in Geneva is a clock that's made of flowers ... does it do anything useful apart from photosynthesis or the blindingly obvious (given that it's a giant clock)? Yet it's apparently one of Switzerland's most photographed sites. Really?? Jet D'Eau, Geneva (The big water spout) Also in Geneva is a giant spout of water ... yeah, that's pretty much it. Sadly you can't get close enough to throw a tennis ball or something else in to see how high up it goes. The Geneva water spout. Leaning Tower of Pisa The tower does lean, a little. You really need to get side-on to see it properly (it only leans about 4 degrees) Once you've taken a few photos you might notice that EVERYONE around you is trying to take those 'hilarious' pose snaps where it looks like they're trying to push the tower back up. Here's what you do; ignore the tower completely and take photos of people posing from an angle that has no tower in it at all. It's hilarious; people look like they are trying to do some demented form of awful Tai chi. It's brilliant! People doing the pose where they "push" the Leaning Tower of Pisa up. How to take a great travel photo Manneken Pis, Brussels Ever seen the famous fountain of the little boy peeing into the water? Well, it's in the middle of Brussels tucked away around a corner, down a lane from the Grand Place (one of the most beautiful medieval squares in Europe). It's surrounded by tour groups, tourist traps and more waffles than I ever knew existed, and attracts large crowds all day. Occasionally the boy gets dressed up in kids' clothes overnight, which does add a little humour to the thing, yet it is generally quite the underwhelming fountain experience. Hilariously it's not uncommon for visitors to leave disappointed or even a little ... 'pissed off' ... (sorry, I had to). The Manneken Pis, Brussels. Picture: Stylva, Flickr Source: Supplied Grand Bazaar, Istanbul "I swear, if one more person asks me if I want to buy another carpets s*** is going to go down!" - anonymous English tourist, 2013 While shopping in Istanbul is certainly an interesting experience in itself, the Grand Bazaar is about the worst place for a bargain in the whole city ... despite the shop keepers each insisting that they'll give you a 'special price' or 'for you my friend, only best price'. You can buy the exact same products outside the bazaar for about half the prices you'll get inside and while the fully covered roof is nice on a hot day the shops and stalls in the surrounding areas of the city offer a far better atmosphere and genuine Turkish shopping experience. Spanish Steps, Rome Generally the only time I get excited about a flight of stairs is when I get to the top. It's just not that easy to get excited about a bunch of stairs. The last stairway I thoroughly enjoyed was the one Led Zeppelin came up with in 1971. The Spanish Steps happen to be the best way to get down the hill when you're at the top, that's probably about the best part about them ... oh yeah, and they get ridiculously slippery in the wet so be careful if it rains as falling down 135 steps would be somewhat unpleasant and ironically also probably the most memorable part of the entire Spanish Steps experience. Peter Shaw is a travel blogger, photographer and enjoys wrestling Grizzly Bears in his spare time, he's currently wandering the globe and will be posting his updates each week, you can follow him here or via the below: Blog: nomadicalsabbatical.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/NomadicalSabbatical Twitter: @nomadsabbatical Spanish Steps, Rome. Picture: Abeeeer, Flickr Source: Supplied