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I have a fascination visiting medieval towns and villages. I think of knights, horses, lance, armor and dragons when I think medieval.

If you wanted to experience a medieval town, visit Quebec City because it is only walled city in North America. France tops the list with the greatest density of medieval towns and villages, Germany is next and the British Isles is third. They say France has the most countryside and land waiting to be farmed.

The two most fascinating medieval towns I’ve visited include San Gimignano and Assisi, both in Italy. Still standing is the imperial fortress in Assisi, the Rocca Maggiore. The one thing I love about Assisi is that you can wake up at four in the morning and walk the narrow streets without feeling any danger. There are certainly a lot of dark corridors and dingy passageways but I never ran into any muggers. There’s a certain peace in the air, possibly St. Francis of Assisi watches over us. Assisi has two medieval castles and are both accessible by foot. The oldest building in Assisi is the Temple of Minerva, built sometime in the 1st century B.C. The hotel to stay at in Assisi is Hotel Green Assisi or the Hotel Minerva Assisi.

I like San Gimignano as well but I find it slightly larger and less functional. San Gimignano certainly feels more touristy than Assisi and has more souvenir shops. Assisi seems to have more inhabitants. When you drive up to San Gimignano, the one thing that is visible from the countryside are its towers. San Gimignano is famous for its architecture but it has towers to climb, medieval fountains to photograph and a church with frescos to admire. Hotels in San Gimignano were alittle too expensive for my taste so we stayed in Siena instead. The Grand Hotel Continental Siena is highly recommended but shop around.

I hope you get a chance to visit these two medieval towns, both situated in Italy. San Gimignano is located near the town of Siena. Assisi is located on the east side of Italy, near Ravenna.