The Château du Garranée was originally constructed in the 11th century. It was modified in the 13th, 14th and 15th centuries. A tower is all that remains of another castle, believed to be 13th century, belonging to the abbots of Faget. The ground floor had no openings other than a small bay in the southern wall. It represented the typical medieval military architecture of the region. It was already in ruins at the French Revolution.
The city walls of Avila were built in the 11th century to protect the citizens from the Moors. They have been well maintained throughout the centuries and are now a major tourist attraction as well as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Visitors can walk around about half of the length of the walls.
The layout of the city is an even quadrilateral with a perimeter of 2,516 m. Its walls, which consist in part of stones already used in earlier constructions, have an average thickness of 3 m. Access to the city is afforded by nine gates of different periods; twin 20 m high towers, linked by a semi-circular arch, flank the oldest ones, Puerta de San Vicente and Puerta del Alcázar.