The Most Gorgeous Walled Cities Around The World

Jericho is one of the oldest cities in the world, a historic place that's had a continuous human presence since the third millennium BC. Its age is mind-boggling, but no mention of Jericho is complete without describing its once-massive walls, which kept the city safe from invaders. "The walls of Jericho represent the earliest technology uncovered by archaeologists that can be ascribed unequivocally to purely military purposes," states Britannica.

One could argue that the defining feature of any human settlement is a protective barrier against animals and unwelcome guests. To this day, we see this inclination in our cities, towns, and villages, where people erect fences to cordon off their own space and keep their homes safe. Though the modern world has no real use for walled cities, fortunately, some are still standing, and there's never been a better time to see them in all their splendor. Let's take a look at the most gorgeous walled cities around the world.

No list of walled cities would be complete without mentioning Jerusalem. Like Jericho, Jerusalem is one of the oldest continually inhabited places in the world and is steeped in history. "Archaeological work in the area suggests that the city was inhabited as far back as 4000 BC," Al Jazeera reports. Jerusalem is home to several monuments of religious significance, such as the Dome of the Rock, the Western Wall, and the Holy Sepulchre. The city's walls have a history all of their own, as they've been raised up and torn down many, many times.

Jerusalem hasn't always been so big — in fact, it was just ten acres when King David conquered it in about 1,004 BCE. Solomon, Hezekiah, and Nehemiah all expanded its borders and built early walls. The Roman Titus came in and tore them down, and the cycle repeated until about 1537, when the final iteration of the walls — the ones we see today — were built by Suliman the Magnificent. The walls of Jerusalem are easily accessible for visitors, with guided tours along the ramparts. Certain segments, such as the Western Wall, are open all day, every day.

Nepal brings to mind remote mountaintop temples surrounded by colorful bunting streamers and spinning prayer wheels. It's a small Himalayan country that requires a Jeep — and tolerance to elevation changes — to be seen in all its glory. Nestled high up in the foothills at about 12,000 feet sits the spectacular Lo Manthang. It dates back to 1380, when Nepal as it is known today was several different kingdoms. Lo Manthang was once a trade route stop for merchants passing through the Himalayas and shares a great deal with neighboring Tibet in terms of culture and history.

Given how difficult it would be to import stone and other building materials, Lo Manthang is made out of mud bricks. It's a small town, home to less than a thousand people, so it's easy to walk the perimeter in a single day. That said, traveling here isn't cheap. Lo Manthang is located in Upper Mustang, which requires a restricted area permit. This costs $500 a day for your first 10 days, then an additional $50 per day after that, and that's on top of what you'll pay an authorized trekking company to reach it. However, if you want to visit a walled settlement that isn't overrun with tourists, it's worth the price and the effort.

Morocco is a spellbinding North African country with a beautiful capital in Marrakesh. The city's historic medina is surrounded by some impressive walls, but if you really want to see the best of Morocco's walled settlements, you'll need to leave the capital and head toward Aït Benhaddou. This "ksar" (a local word for fortress) is built out of a material called adobe, which is a mixture of straw and mud. It's perfect for harsh desert climates, as it maintains a comfortable inside temperature during scorching days and frigid nights.

Aït Benhaddou consists of six fortresses (each built by a different family) combined into one, with walls designed to protect its inhabitants from the perils of the desert, particularly raiding enemy tribes. The adobe here features ornate, complex designs, from its tower tops to the arches on its gates. Aït Benhaddou will make you re-evaluate your assumptions about how detailed a building made out of mudbricks can be, it's that stunning.

The fortress complex also includes Berber architectural innovations such as "kasbahs," cliff citadels that merge into the topography so well that they're difficult to spot from a distance by enemies. Film buffs may recognize the place as a setting in classic flicks like "Lawrence of Arabia" and "Gladiator." It's still inhabited, too, albeit by a small group of people. A stroll inside the walls will take you by artisanal shops, a mosque, and tons of winding alleyways that make you feel like an extra in a movie.

It's common for tourists to remain in Manila only long enough to grab their next flight to some beautiful beach. Perhaps people are spooked by all the traffic and sprawl; Manila is one of the most densely populated cities in the world. But if you leave too soon then you'll be missing out on Manila's many malls, museums, Chinatowns, parks, and — you guessed it — the remnants of a city wall.

Manila's walled city district is known as Intramuros, Spanish for "between the walls." The Spanish established their first settlement in the Philippines in 1565 and founded Manila six years later. Intramuros has been in place since then and was once an enclosure strictly for the elite, housing the Governor's Palace and Manila Cathedral. The six-meter-tall wall included a moat for repelling attacks from Spain's many enemies — namely neighboring Chinese and other imperial forces such as the Dutch and the Portuguese.

Following the Philippine Revolution and the subsequent American occupation, the Japanese briefly conquered the island nation during WWII. Intramuros was subsequently subjected to Allied bombing and, sadly, large parts of the walls were destroyed. These days, you'll find short, moss-covered lengths of it surrounded by old Spanish architecture, providing a small — but beautiful — window into the Philippines' Spanish past. You can wander them yourself or book onto a guided tour.

Malta is a tiny Mediterranean island that often gets skipped over for other nearby destinations because people assume that it's not worth a visit. Nothing could be further from the truth. Malta takes only an hour to drive across but treats you to a treasure trove of historical and cultural sites reflecting the island's ever-changing history in the clash between Mediterranean superpowers. It's got lots of claims to fame, such as being the place where the shipwrecked Apostle Paul allegedly recovered and an Allied holdout against the onslaught of invading Axis powers during WWII. If you decide to take a trip to Malta, then you can't miss the walled city of Mdina.

Mdina was at one point Malta's capital, situated in a prime defensive position up on a hill. It was built with bastions — a type of triangular, jutting-out fortification ideal for cannon and musket warfare. In keeping with the times, only a limited number of vehicles are permitted entry into this small city — hence the "Silent City" moniker used by the local Maltese. So, prepare to break out your walking shoes. The architecture here ranges from medieval Norman to the much later Baroque period, seen in the churches, cathedrals, homes, and even dungeons you can visit. Of course, you can also traverse segments of the walls themselves on a Mdina walking tour.

All the aforementioned locations on this list are at least a layover away, so are there any options closer to home? The United States is too young for castles and fortifications, but our northern neighbor has the only fortified city you'll find on this side of the Americas: Quebec. It's one of Canada's oldest cities, beginning as a trading post for the then-lucrative fur trade. It then transformed into a more permanent base and a key strategic location in the wars between the French, the British, and the fledgling United States, thanks to its rocky escarpment.

Quebec entrenched itself in a series of walls over the years. Work on the final iteration, which was designed by Gaspard-Joseph Chaussegros de Léry (Louis XV's Chief Engineer in New France), began in 1745. Inside the walls, you'll find the old Château Frontenac Hotel, the wooden Dufferin Terrace boardwalk, America's only Holy Door at the Notre-Dame de Québec Basilica, and a toboggan slide for the bravest among you. Canadian authorities have gone to painstaking lengths to preserve the old city and walls exactly as they were. For example, they put every stone back exactly where it originally was after injecting new grout.