Until recently Jaén was the only provincial capital in Andalucía that we had never visited. We finally paid an overnight visit in December 2025. Then, in February 2026, due to the cancellation of a trip to Madrid because of rail disruption, we used the time to revisit and explore the city further, this time with our friend Ken on a two-night trip. We still cannot pretend to know the city well, but in our opinion Jaén is worth a visit and our introduction to the city is intended to assist other first-time visitors.
The province of Jaén is situated in Northeast Andalucía.
The province of Jaén is largely devoted to olive production and the city is the administrative and industrial centre of the province. It is located in the foothills of mountains to the south of the valley of the river Guadalquivir. There is evidence of habitation going back several thousand years and it was part of Roman and then Moorish Iberia until the thirteenth century. Today it has a population of about 115,000.
It is built on a steep hillside. The modern suburbs are on flat ground to the south with the modern city centre rising from there to the Plaza de la Constitución. Further uphill is the old town (pictured), dominated by the massive cathedral. On the mountain above the old town is the Castillo de Santa Catalina. Jaén is not a major tourist destination (we heard no English speaking tourists on either of our visits) though, while it does not have the outstanding beauty of, say, Granada or Córdoba, we found the visit interesting and worthwhile.
The city centre is the Plaza de la Constitución. To the north (downhill) are the main shopping streets whilst in the surrounding area there are plenty of restaurants and bars. Nearby is the Basilica de San Ildefonso (pictured left), which is said to be impressive inside.
Several streets lead gently uphill – in particular Calle Bernabé Soriano, which is lined with bars – to the large Regional Government building (Diputación de Jaén) and the rear of the cathedral.
The cathedral was constructed between 1570 and 1802 and is impressive from the outside, its’ towers visible from much of the city. We only had a quick look inside from the entrance – the ticket office is entered from the Plaza Santa María – and it is huge. Its claim to fame is that it holds the Holy Veil – whatever that is.
The front of the cathedral is on the Plaza Santa María – a large square which also features the Town Hall and Bishop’s Palace . Around and above the cathedral are the warren or streets and lanes which make up the old town. The Tourist Office is near the cathedral in C. Carrera de Jesús.
The Baños Arabes, the largest Moorish baths in Spain are fascinating. They are located in Plaza Santa Luisa de Marillac, beneath the sixteenth century Palacio de Villardompardo, about 600 metres from the cathedral. The baths date from the 11th century and are fascinating to explore. After use as baths they were used as a tannery, buried under the palace, rediscovered a century ago and restored in the 1980s. Entry is free. The building also hosts the Museo de Artes y Costumbres Populares, which explores the folk history of the province.
Inside the baths (above) and the Museo (below)
The Baths and Museum are accessible by climbing a very steep hill from the modern city centre, by bus No.15 every 30 minutes from stops along the Paseo de la Estación to the Calle Martinez Molina 62 stop just outside, or by a more level walk from the cathedral area along Calle Maestra and Calle Martinez Molina.
The laundry and the patio of the Palacio de Villardompardo, now part of the Museum
Well above the city is the Castillo de Santa Catalina, which today is a parador hotel. There must be excellent views over the city and surroundings. We didn’t find the time to try to reach it, but It turns out the there are occasional bus services (no.30 Santa C) from Plaza de la Libertad (outside the bus station).
Less than 50 km from Jaén are the historic towns of Baeza and Úbeda. They are linked by regular bus services from the bus station and day trips are simple either from or to Jaén. See Andalucia to Aragon for our recent visit to Baeza.
Practicalities
Getting to Jaén
Jaén is 1 hour from Granada by express coach (about 10 journeys daily), some of which operate through from Málaga. See https://www.alsa.com . The bus station is close to the city centre at Plaza de la Libertad.
There are 4-5 trains daily from Córdoba which take just under 2 hours and 3 daily trains from Madrid which take 4 hours 20 minutes. See https://www.renfe.com . The station is some way from the centre and it is wise to catch a bus uphill to the city centre from the stop outside – the service is frequent.
Getting around Jaén
The older parts of the city are walkable – the only occasions one may need to take a bus are to avoid steep hills, The bus services are operated by Alsa and the website is https://www.transporteurbanodejaen.es . Note that if you have a bus card from a Consorcio de Transporte Metropolitano in Andalucia (Málaga, Granada etc) (pictured) it can be used on the Jaén city buses to give a large discount. Just tap it on the machine by the driver.
Note that the services from the city centre to the railway station are infrequent, but it is walkable downhill. The difference from the other direction is due to the one-way system. The main option seems to be the No.19 every 30 mins from Plaza de la Libertad. The services to the Baños Arabes (No.15) and to the Castillo (No.30 Santa C) have been mentioned above.
The unused Jaen tramway
Jaén was meant to have a tram service linking the lower newer districts via the station to the city centre. It was built in 2009-11 at a cost of €120M and operated for 2 weeks before the Council decided it was too expensive to operate. It has lain unused ever since, apart from the occasional test to see whether the system and the trams still work. Plans for it to open are mentioned from time to time but they are not yet finalised.
Where to drink and eat
As usual we spent much of our time in search of good beer and food. There are plenty of options for most tastes in Jaén and this is a list of those places we enjoyed.
Bars and beers:
Cervecería Conde Duque, Plaza de la Constitutión 3. Right in the centre of town with both outside and inside seating areas this had the largest selection of both draught and bottled beers that we found, together with friendly and helpful staff.
Pub Akelarre, C/Nueva 7. This has the feel of a cellar pub. The selection of beers is limited but a fine choice of sprits and a good atmosphere.
There are plenty of places around the Basilica de San Ildelonso and in nearby Calle Teodoro Calvache. This area seems to be the focus of late-night life. La Clásica, Pl. San Ildefonso 6 is a large, busy bar. Taberna 4 Esquinas at c/Teodoro Calvache 12 is a friendly old bar serving beers from the local brewery Alcázar.
Beer and tapas in 4 Esquinas (above) and La Clasica (below)
Near the railway station and worth a visit if you are in the area is The Garrison Craft Beer House, c/San Francisco Javier 7, with a good selection of beers.
Food
Many of the bars provide free tapas with each beer and we particularly liked those in Conde Duque and 4 Esquinas. We had an evening meal in Conde Duque which was very good – there is a wide menu. At lunchtime we had a filling menú del dia at Restuarante Café El Comercial, C/Bernabé Soriano 23, which was well worth the money.
First and second courses in El Comercial
The Hotel Europe does reasonable breakfasts (optional) and if you just want to buy snacks or food for a journey there is a Dia supermarket nearby at Av. Granada 5.
Hotel
There is limited accommodation in Jaén and only a few places in the centre of town. On both visits we stayed at Hotel Europa, Plaza de Belén, a modern hotel which is reasonably priced and comfortable. The only meal is breakfast and there is no bar.
Acknowledgements: Thanks to Ken Donald for his company on our second visit to Jaén
Photographs: All of the photos are by Steve Gillon apart from the following: The map of Andalucía provinces is from http://www.ontheworldmap.com , Jaén station is from Wikipedia and the frontage of Conde Duque is from Trip Advisor, sourced via Google Images,
Copyright: The text and all photos except those listed above are Copyright © Steve Gillon, 2026.
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