The cable car (funivia) from central Rapallo to the Sanctuary of Montallegro is the town's most memorable excursion. The lower station is a short walk from the seafront; the ride takes about ten minutes, rising steeply through terraced olive groves and then open hillside to the sanctuary at 612 metres. The views over the Tigullio Gulf open up quickly as you climb — on a clear day you can see across to Corsica.
The Sanctuary of Montallegro at the top is a sixteenth-century church with an ornate baroque interior. The walls are hung with a remarkable collection of votive offerings — small painted panels recording shipwrecks, falls, accidents, and other disasters averted by the Madonna's intervention. The terrace outside the sanctuary gives the best panorama available from the Tigullio hills. There is a bar-restaurant at the top. The cable car runs daily; check current timetables and prices at the station.