Imagine arriving at an airport with no knowledge of the holiday you are embarking on, what you are doing, or where you are staying.
That is exactly what happened after I had signed up for a three-day European city break with travel company srprs.me.
The only control you have over the getaway is choosing three destinations you do not want to go to, your preferable dates and where you want to fly from.
A dedicated agent then sorts out everything for you, but tells you nothing about it.
So as the holiday drew nearer, my girlfriend and I were giddy with excitement and trepidation.
With a week to go before the big reveal, we received the weather forecast for the mystery location.
Lows of 17 degrees and highs of 21 didn’t really narrow it down, even though we had a look on BBC weather to find cities that matched the forecast.
A few days later, we received a scratch card through the post and a mystery black envelope – which we weren’t allowed to open until we reached the airport.
When we did finally arrive at London Stansted, we sat down in a quiet corner eager to discover our holiday destination.
We scratched a card revealing a four-digit code and entered it onto our phone. This gave us the flight time, but still no destination.
That’s where the black envelope came in. Inside were our boarding passes and our destination – the beautiful city of Genoa in Northern Italy.
Neither of us had ever considered visiting Genoa, but when we arrived we fell in love with the place.
This is one of the best things about srprs.me, you could be sent to a destination which you might not ever have thought of travelling to.
After the initial excitement of the destination reveal, we then received an email with details of our accommodation – the Hotel Le Nuvole in the historic medieval centre of the city.
On arrival we discovered a beautiful boutique hotel, surrounded by a labyrinth of narrow alleyways and tall, colourful townhouses.
Close to transport links and attractions, the hotel was in the perfect location for sightseeing.
While the enterprising travel company organise flights and accommodation they don’t plan activities at the destination.
This leaves you free to wander and explore without the constraints of a jam-packed itinerary.
Day One: Take in the views
We arrived at 4pm and after checking in to our hotel we headed out to explore our new surroundings.
Just a five-minute walk from our hotel was a funicular, a train taking passengers up a mountain.
We hopped aboard and headed to the panoramic viewing platform at the top. From there we watched the sunset across the multi-coloured city.
Ancient church towers rose above thousands of townhouses in front of the iconic port – with swathes of orange and pink from the sunset covering the skies.
At the bottom of the mountain was a restaurant called Ostaia a Ribotta, which we never would have found were it not for the receptionist’s recommendations.
The typically Genovese food was fantastic and we were the only tourists in there.
Day Two: Eat, drink and be merry
Sunday was our only full day so we were determined to make the most of it.
With a city map in our hands, we set off to explore like Christopher Columbus – who, incidentally, was born in Genoa.
The city is pleasantly small, so by lunchtime we had had crossed off almost half of the recommendations and – with the help of a City Sightseeing bus – found ourselves at the famous port.
Strolling along the Calata Simone Vignoso near the port, we found a wonderful market with souvenirs over half the price of those found in more touristy areas or the airport.
We then walked down one of the jetties past the incredible Biosfera – a glass dome designed to hold its own climate inside which seemingly floats on the water.
After lunch we entered the labyrinth of alleyways – passing numerous piazzas before reaching the Genoa Cathedral.
The stunning Gothic designs matched with the sheer size of the building made it stand out as one of the most impressive sights in the whole of the city.
Visitors can pay a small fee to climb the stairs to the top of the cathedral’s tower – which offers another breath-taking view of Genoa, this time from the heart of its medieval centre.
Before the day was out, we treated ourselves to Italy’s famous gelato from La Cremieria delle Erbe, in the pretty Piazza delle Erbe.
Our day of adventure was wrapped-up before 5pm, leaving us some time to relax before going for dinner at one of the hotelier’s favourite restaurants – Osteria Come A Casa.
The seafood ravioli and homemade pesto pasta were amazing, but the second course of fried calamari, squid, prawns and sardines blew everything out of the water.
The day was rounded off with cocktails in the nearby Piazza Delle Erbe.
Day Three: Soak in the scenery
On our final morning, we strolled along the iconic Via Garibaldi, which was as scenic as everything else in the gorgeous city.
And our holiday came to end we both we agreed that the element of surprise had made our trip to Genoa even more special.
If you want a surprise holiday go to srprs.me. Prices start at £80pp for a three-day city break in Europe.
