Admit it: We’ve all been there. Travelled thousands of kilometres, woke up at the crack of dawn, braved hordes of tourists to arrive at a purportedly iconic, must-see destination – only to find ourselves underwhelmed, irritated and wondering what the point of it all is.

Perhaps you’ve felt this while peering over dozens of heads and iPhone screens, trying to get a glimpse of the Mona Lisa at the Louvre Museum in Paris. Or groused about the crowds in Kyoto’s Arashiyama Bamboo Grove.