Top highlights of the province of Jaén

Jaén is the most surprising province in Andalusia for first-time visitors. It has no coastline, but it has an ocean of olive trees covering hills and plains as far as the eye can see. Out of that green sea rise Renaissance towns, a castle on every hilltop and some of the wildest mountains in the Iberian Peninsula. These are its ten must-sees.

Jaén's top ten

1. Úbeda and Baeza

   Two neighbouring towns, 9 km apart, with the finest Renaissance architecture in Spain: the Sacra Capilla del Salvador, Plaza Vázquez de Molina, Baeza Cathedral and the Jabalquinto Palace.

2. Jaén Cathedral

   Andrés de Vandelvira's masterpiece and a model for cathedrals in the Americas. It keeps the Holy Face relic.

3. The Sierra de Cazorla

   The source of the Guadalquivir, the Río Borosa trail, the Cerrada del Utrero gorge and villages such as Cazorla and La Iruela below their castles.

4. Santa Catalina Castle

   The fortress watching over the capital, with the great white cross and an unforgettable view of the city and the olive groves.

5. Segura de la Sierra and Hornos

   Villages perched on the rock, with castles and views over the Tranco reservoir.

6. Baños de la Encina

   Burgalimar Castle, with its 14 towers, is one of the best-preserved Moorish fortresses in Europe.

7. The Journey to the Time of the Iberians

   The Iberian Museum in Jaén, the ancient city of Cástulo and the Puente Tablas oppidum: Spain's best Iberian route.

8. Andújar and its mountains

   Home of the Iberian lynx and of the Virgen de la Cabeza pilgrimage, the oldest in Spain.

9. Fortaleza de la Mota

   A walled citadel on a hill in Alcalá la Real, once the sentinel of the frontier with the Nasrid kingdom of Granada.

10. Olive oil

    Visit an olive mill, taste freshly made extra virgin oil and walk through the groves: the most Jaén experience of all.

Why travel to Jaén

Distances and climate

Jaén city lies in the middle of the province: almost everything is less than an hour and a half away by car. The Cazorla and Segura mountains, to the east, take longer because of their winding roads.

Summers are very hot in the countryside and the capital; spring and autumn are the best seasons for villages and mountains. In winter, the olive harvest fills the province with life and it is the time to taste the new oil.

Getting there

A car is the easiest option: the A-4 motorway crosses the north of the province through Despeñaperros and Bailén, and the A-44 links Jaén with Granada. Trains run from Madrid to Linares-Baeza and Jaén, and the nearest airports are Granada and Málaga. Hire a car to get around villages and mountains.