Andalusia’s underrated city: Jaen
We’ve been to Jaén a few times now. It makes for a good starting point for some of beautiful towns and cities in Jaén province: places like Úbeda, Baeza and Cazorla. But the capital itself is an attractive city with some great attractions. We’ve also had our best meals in all of Spain in the city of Jaén.
I write about the city of Jaén in this post.
Accommodation: We stayed at the very comfortable Los Caňos II, an apartment outside the center. Very good value. If you want to experience a stay in a parador, Jaén’s Parador is located in a castle (Santa Catalina Castle) overlooking the city.
Impressions of Jaén
An attractive, small city that has a provincial air. Lots of parks, a few busy main streets, some pretty squares. There is some flatness in the city center but otherwise it is an extremely hilly city. Some of the geography is spectacular, and you’ll see jagged peaks everywhere. As far as sites of interest go, Jaén doesn’t rival places like Seville, Cordoba or Granada but it does have 2 major highlights which I’ll cover further below. But you’ll see pieces of history everywhere if you look for it, principally in its fountains, churches and historical buildings.
Jaén is both an administrative center as well as home to various industries. It’s famous for its olive oil: Jaén is known as the World Capital of Olive Oil (you’ll see the lines of olive trees in the fields when coming into the region). Tourism is not the main industry…which also means that although attractive, Jaén could do with more upkeep: you’ll see a lot of graffiti and dog poop on the streets. The city doesn’t get the level of care that some of the more popular cities get.
People we met were very friendly and relaxed. Wandering early in the morning, we saw a lot of older men sitting in cafés reading their newspapers. Jaén has that kind of vibe. We were pleasantly surprised.
What to See in Jaén
Jaén Cathedral. A huge cathedral that’s on the tentative list to be a UNESCO world heritage site. Construction started in 1249 and finally completed in 1724.
It is considered as one of the finest cathedrals in Spain and was the model used for many Latin American churches that were later built. Jaén Cathedral is most famous for being the home the Holy Veil which according to tradition was used by Saint Veronica to wash Christ’s face.
Castillo de Santa Catalina. At the very top of the city, on a high hill, is the castle of Santa Catalina. Originally built by the Moors in the 8th century, it was modified and enlarged by the Christians in the 13th century and again in the 16th century. In the early 1800’s (1810 – 1812, during the War of Independence), Napoleon’s troops occupied the castle and used it as a base in the area. Today you can come up here (best done by taxi) and walk around the castle and enjoy incredible views of the city. Right next to the Castle is the Parador of Jaén, voted as one of the 10 best hotel castles in Europe to stay in.
The Parador:
The Arab baths in the Villardompardo’s Palace. The Arab baths are the largest preserved baths in Spain. The baths are in a palace that showcases an excellent museum on the history of Jaén (all is free, including the baths). Finally, there’s a café with an incredible lookout over the city.
Some more photos from around the city of Jaén:
Restaurants and Cafés
I mentioned at the top that we’ve had our best meal in Spain in Jaén. The restaurant was Panaceite, which is the favorite of locals. Very, very much recommended. It’s stylish and cosy, excellent wines, their specialty are local meats but they have vegetarian options.
Another recommendation (if you want seafood) is Marisqueria El Pato Rojo which is right across the street from Panaceite.
A very nice café is Colombia 50 Café. It’s just a little down the street from both of the restaurants I’ve mentioned above.
Accommodation
On our first stay, we stayed at the very comfortable Los Caňos II, an apartment outside the center. Very good value and the host (Pablo) is very, very friendly with lots of local tips. Very much recommended.
If looking for something a higher end, Jaén’s Parador is located in Santa Catalina Castle overlooking the city.
Getting to Jaén
Jaén is well connected. It is the ending point of 2 highspeed rail lines: one that goes north to Madrid (4 hours), one that goes southwest to Cadiz with stops in Cordoba (1 ½ hrs) and Seville (3 hours). It is also 1 hour from Granada by Alsa bus.
More images of Jaén
Summing up Jaén
It’s funny how reality doesn’t match expectations. On our first visit we had come to meet a friend who lived nearby. We hadn’t expected much of Jaén and had left really liking the city. Enough to make us come back and explore the city a 2nd time. It’s a city to visit if you want to get off the beaten path and explore and authentic Andalusian city.
Related: Valencia (Spain): could this be the place we choose to live in Spain?
Related: Could we live in Malaga (Spain)? Our Impressions and highlights
Related: Why we chose Nerja as our new home in Spain (and why it’s perfect for the times)
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We are heading to Jaén in 2 weeks – so excited .
I hope you enjoy 🙂
It IS interesting when one stops and takes the time to discover lesser well known places. Sometimes it is just that they have not had promotions or marketing and can be equally nice as other more touristed places, and on top of that one doesn’t need to deal with the crowds of visitors! We love that whole region and spent quite almost a month living in Granada when we were there and then another 3 weeks in Seville. Graffiti I would be okay with, but dog poop in the streets, that’s yucky!
Thanks for the reminder that we need to come up with a plan for our visa renewal here in Mexico. We were given a six month visa upon entry so we still have quite a few months to go, but still we need a plan as who knows if we can leave if the pandemic is still around in five months time…
The architecture of the Arab baths looks wonderful. Reminiscent to me of the hamam in Morocco and again the baths in Turkey…. they all seem to have a similar architecture with the arches and stones… very atmospheric.
600 euros for a 3 bedroom ~ that’s a great deal! Certainly makes a place more “liveable” even if it is short term to save some $.
Interesting post.
Great views from the Castle of Santa Catalina, you captured it beautifully in your photo. I think we drove past it when we visited Granada and Cordoba, but not sure why we did not stop to visit it. The Jaen Cathedral looks beautiful. I have such fond memories of our travels in Spain, the food in particular was a big highlight for me. Panaceite will definitely be on my list of places to eat when I visit Jaen. I hope all goes well with your residence visa application.
Most people have never heard of Jaen Gilda, we didn’t previous to coming here. So understandable why you wouldn’t visit 🙂