Jaen, Spain City and Province
Renaissance Cathedral, Arab Fortress & Baths & Carmelite Monastery
A brief look at Jaen in Andalucia, Southern Spain. Castle, Parador, Cathedral and Churches plenty to see and do.
Jaen, city and province sits above the provinces of both Cordoba and Granada, is Spain´s leading Olive Oil producing region. The olive capital is the town of Martos with “La Peña” - its hill, visible for miles.
The city of Jaén - pronounced “hi-en" - has an enormous cathedral, a Renaisasnce project started and designed by Vandelvira and finished after 1750. The Cathedral houses some excellent paintings and minor works of art in alabaster, coral, bronze wrought iron, silver and gold.
The Castle, Parador and View point.
Santa Catalina, the elongated hill overlooking the city, boasts both castle and 4-star Parador, an Arabic fortress that dominates the city and landscape. The view is of the Sierra Morena to the east, the city sprawl across to the Sierra Nevada, and of course regimented rows of olive trees marching into the distance. The restaurant in the Parador is the finest in town and provides traditional fare, such as Ajoblanco (white garlic soup) in fabulous style.
The monastery of Santa Teresa, founded in 1615, is said to be the first Carmelite monastery to be dedicated to Saint Teresa. Mouth-watering traditional pastries can be bought at the door.
The tourist office in Jaen produces of a yearly guidebook that includes a suggested walking route around the city to take in all 34 listed monuments, starting from Plaza de San Francisco. The office can be found near the cathedral, hidden up a narrow tiled street with windows bars full of geraniums and pelargoniums.
The Arab baths are some of the best preserved and largest baths that can be visited in Spain. In the 16th century, 500 years after they were built, they were filled in and a palace was built on the top. It was not until 1913 that a small part of the baths was discovered during a city inspection of the monument Palacio de Villardompardo. It was declared a national monument in 1917, but the restoration didn’t really start until 1970, and in 1984 the works received the Gold medal Europa Nostra for that year.
Jaen is fascinating city worthy of many days of exploration to soak up the ambiance and appreciate its charm, most of which needs to be done on foot.
You can get to Jaen by train from Madrid or by bus from Malaga or Granada.
More information on Jaen.
Top five things to see and do in Jaen.
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