The Jounieh Téléphérique is a cable car that climbs steeply from the waterfront at Jounieh up to the hilltop shrine of Harissa, covering a height difference of about 650 metres in around 5 minutes. The gondolas pass directly over densely-packed apartment buildings, giving you an intimate and slightly voyeuristic view into balconies, rooftops, and the general intimacy of Lebanese apartment life below.
At the top, you arrive at a platform near the shrine of Our Lady of Lebanon, from which the views over Jounieh Bay and south toward Beirut are exceptional, especially at night when the city lights spread below. A funicular then takes you the final stretch up to the statue itself. The cable car runs during the day and into the evening; the trip is short but memorable, and the ascent alone is worth the fare. At busy times there can be a queue.