Do you agree with the choices - or is there somewhere worse?

Give us your views below on over-rated ancient and historical sites - the three best and/or most entertaining will win a copy of The Road Less Travelled from DK Eyewitness Travel - signed by Bill Bryson

STONEHENGE, UK

THE BUILD-UP Stonehenge is famous, its stones astonishingly huge and its setting dramatic. The summer solstice ceremony held by druids and New Agers confirms it as a cathedral to mystical paganism.

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THE REALITY You can’t touch it, you can’t walk inside, you can’t wander about its space and you have to pay an entrance fee to see it.

Located in a bleak spot, the henge has no sense of intimacy, and offers little shelter in bad weather. There is no museum that explores the significance of Stonehenge, and visitor facilities are also limited.

THE ALTERNATIVE Stonehenge is one of the world’s most famous megalithic sights – but nearby Avebury is much larger and has a much more accessible stone circle

PETRA, JORDAN

THE BUILD-UP Rising out of rose-red sandstone in a hidden valley is the city of Petra, Jordan’s top attraction. The impressive site was built in the 3rd century BC by the Nabataeans, Arab traders who created an empire based on the control of the highly lucrative trade in frankincense. The city comprises tombs, temples, storerooms and stables cut out of the rock.

THE REALITY Firmly featuring on the itinerary of every traveller to the Middle East since the days of the Grand Tour, Petra is one of the most visited sites in the Middle East.

The tourism village that has grown up around Petra now threatens to outsize the ancient city itself.

THE ALTERNATIVE The extraordinary rock-hewn monuments of Lalibela in Ethiopia challenge Jordan’s Petra in number, artistic accomplishment and, above all, atmosphere.

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