Visiting Jaen

Jaen is capital city of the province of Jaen, in the autonomous southern Spanish community of Andalusia. Although not as well known as some other Spanish cities, it has an interesting history dating back four centuries.

This town first came to my attention when I broke my leg walking down the street in Mengibar, a town north of Jaen. There was a steep step where I expected none and I wound up on my back facing the sky and wondering what happened. My femur had broken in two places so it wasn’t a pretty sight. Shades of battlefield injuries, with my knee facing the wrong direction.

An ambulance was called and it took me to Jaen, which had a big public teaching hospital. From the window of my hospital room, where I spent the next five days, I could see a castle up on the hill. I discovered later it was called Castle Santa Catalina.

It turns out that part of the castle I saw is a parador. And that’s where hubby and I stayed for our 37th wedding anniversary, on July 2, 2025.

I’m thankful that I now have happier memories on this visit to Jaen. In fact, from the hallway outside our room in the parador, I was able to see the eight story hospital where they operated on me, putting a steel rod with screws into my femur the day before Good Friday 2021, during the Covid pandemic. A few months later, I was able to walk again normally.

Anyway, not to bore you too much, let’s talk about interesting sites you can see should you happen to visit Jaen without needing to fix a broken leg.

Probably the number one site to see is the Cathedral of the Assumption. It’s impressive both outside and in. Make sure to rent an audioguide to help you understand the significance of what you are seeing there.

Before the cathedral was built, there was a mosque. It was reconsecrated as a church in 1246 after Ferdinand III of Castille took Jaen from the Arabs.

Construction of the current cathedral lasted several centuries. Styles incorporated into the cathedral included Spanish Renaissance, Baroque and Neoclassical. In 2012, the cathedral was listed as a World Heritage Site.

After visiting the cathedral, stroll over to La Maestra restaurant which is kiddy corner to the left from the church’s front facade. They have friendly service and great tapas, including Russian salad, calamari sandwiches and shredded barbecue pork on a bun. Also, they are open for lunch before 1 or 1:30 pm, so that’s great for tourists used to eating earlier.

It was 38° Celsius, 100.4° Fahrenheit, while we were touring the cathedral Thursday, July 3rd, so we wanted to eat quickly and return to the air conditioned parador as quickly as possible. They also have a big pool so I was up for doing laps that hot afternoon.

Earlier in the day, we visited the Arab Baths of Jaen. This is a free-entry museum in the old part of the city. I don’t recommend driving down or up these very narrow streets. Do yourself a favor and take a cab or walk there depending upon where you are staying in Jaen.

This museum had remnants of Arab baths which were built over Roman baths in 1002. It has a changing room, a cold room, a warm room and a hot room. The museum also displays local ceramics, antique carriages, wooden reproductions of famous Jaen buildings and an changing exhibit featuring local artists among other items.

The Arab Baths building had a lot of interesting items to view, especially considering it was free of charge.

Lastly, here is a view of Jaen from the castle itself. From there, you can get a great view of the whole city. So even if you don’t want to stay at the parador when you visit, perhaps just see the castle to admire the view.

There is a big cross at the opposite end of the mountain from the castle as well.

So, if you visit Jaen, I suggest you see the impressive cathedral, the Arab Baths museum and Castle Santa Catalina. Also, the care at the University Hospital at Jaen is very good in case you aren’t watching where you are going and you need to pay them a visit!