The Rapallo center point is around the area of Basilica of Sts. Gervasius and Protasius and the area of Porta delle Saline.
Famous American poet Ezra Pound, who influenced generations of poets and song writers starting from Frank Sinatra to Bob Dylan and John Lennon to Thom Yorke, was a regular visitor of Rapallo. The line quote above is from one of his unpublished poems. It gives us a glimpse into the genius of a man who tried to find solace “ for no shorter than 20 years “ in a place that can only be described as solemnly beautiful and sombrely pretty.
Rapallo has a reputation of not being as famous as some of her sister cities and towns in the region. Located in the Genoa Province of Italy “ just south of the Italian Riviera “ Rapallo has thrived under the shadow of popularity that bigger and better tourist spots like Porte Fino.
At times, it seems nothing but an obvious outcome of competition. At other times, however, it looks like a blessing in disguise. While other popular cities get riled up in insatiable tourist frenzy, Rapallo can afford to sit back, enjoy the warm sun that shines over the Mediterranean and contemplate the future.
If that spirit of being laid back attracts you quite violently, Rapallo can be your dream choice of a good holiday vacation. There is a lot to do and much more to see here “ all the while hanging high your boots because no worry in the world can touch you when you are out in the palm shadows!
Let's get the notion of 'cheap hotels are usually too bad to stay at' out of our way in order to better understand what one stands to earn by living at such a hotel. Typically, a budget hotel can help one save as much as (if not more) 50% of their overall trip budget. That's a lot of money, in any context. For example, by staying at a budget hotel instead of a luxury one for two consecutive vacations, you will be effectively earning a free third vacation. That, we think, is the biggest advantage of staying at a cheap lodge.
When it comes to cheap hotels, Rapallo has much to put on display. From traditional bed and breakfast units to modern, cosy lodges that provide great value for money, you are guaranteed to find it all within the city limits of Rapallo.
There should really be no dispute that a city like Rapallo, where rolling hills combine with the Mediterranean to create a stunning visual effect unlike you are going to find anywhere else, the finest hospitality is provided by luxury resorts.
Among many such luxury Rapallo hotels, the one that struck our fancy the most “ purely because of its excellent market standing “ has to be Hotel Astoria. The brand of Astoria Corp. itself speaks for itself, and you only have to step a foot on the property to understand that it means business. The best grade of hospitality you will ever experience is present in abundance at Astoria.
Excelsior Palace Hotel is worth a mention here, too. Its splendid façade facing the sea breeze is reason enough for tourists to simply get drowned into ecstasy that awaits them.
On a slightly cheaper side, Hotel San Desiderio can be considered for luxury stay in Rapallo. It has a traditional Italian flavor of hospitality characterized by warm reception and delectable local delicacies.
Being a tourist friendly city, Rapallo has its share of alternative lodging options that are always offering stiff competition to traditional hotel and resort businesses.
Among these, the best known and most adopted are boutique hotels in Rapallo. These are typically small scale mini-resorts that allow for an intimately sincere hospitality for business and leisure travelers.
Tourists can also hope to avail the choice of private rental accommodation options that are gaining traction every passing day.
There's much to see in Rapallo that many tourists aren't aware of. As a result, they end up enjoying the beaches and the sun a little too much, forfeiting in the process the prospects of getting to the region in a better light.
Santuario de Montallegro is a famous cathedral in the city that exhibits the high European influences on Italian architecture in a very prominent way. In an otherwise quiet city, this cathedral stands tall as an even quieter island of peace and piety.
Castello di Rapallo is another famous site in Rapallo, located just by the sea, amidst beach boulders. It is a stone-sand castle of impeccably good design that you will be more than like to fall in love with. Not just that, it offers a great historic tour of the region through its native museum. It is typically open to tourists during holiday season and summer, when tourists can wade into the castle and see for themselves what it must be like to live in a stately fort.
San Michel di Pagana is a small town located just west of Rapallo, at about 15 minutes of a stroll. It features good eating joints and an overall peaceful life accentuated by cute rivulets, water bodies, deep greenery and adorable bridges.
Centro Storico is the central market area of Rapallo, where narrow and winding lanes take you through the quintessential part of Italian life “ loud and charming market life.
From the viewpoint of Rapallo hotels and their fares, the best time to visit Rapallo has to be during late summer and early fall “ that is months of July and August. Although weather here is much too same throughout the year, it can be much cheaper to stay and enjoy the scenery when it's not the season of ultimate tourist frenzy.
Holiday season “ December and January “ can also be a good time to visit here, mainly as hotels in Rapallo have steep discounts on offer around Christmas.
Below are reviews of the city of Rapallo, Italy from an actual visitor's perspective.