Jaen

January 24, 2024

Jaen is a wonderful town thats an easy day trip from Granada, or a great stepping stone further into Spain's interior. It's a fascinating place, with that typical Spanish mix of beauty, history and good vibes. Its got a well connected bus station, and while there's not a whole host of places to stay, there's a smattering through the town centre, or further out. Jaen will charm you endlessly!

For me, the highlight was the cultural centre and Arabic baths. What was surprising, was that despite the size of the centre, with the amazingly well preserved Arabic baths, as well as outside space, art and other artefacts, was the fact it was completely free! I had to ask the lady at the welcome desk twice if I needed to pay anything! There as also a nice little café to grab a drink and something sweet to eat. The complex is open everyday except Mondays, and I can assure you, this was a great place to visit. Start with the Arabic baths and work your way upwards. The baths are preserved particularly well due to the fact they had been converted to storerooms and even bank vaults at one time, and the star shaped holes in the ceiling let in the most wonderful light, making them feel intimate, yet spacious, exciting yet calm.

As you move out of the baths and through the museum, there's the most fantastic exhibits showing you what life has been like in the area, from showing beautiful clothing in the region, to decorated carts, washing stones, horses festival outfits, all enclosed in this most charming building. There's also a roof terrace, where you can not only look over Jaen but also upwards to the castle on the hill (Which was as far away as it looks, I can promise you that, considering I walked there in the summer heat!)

Here you can see where the light comes down into the Arabic baths. Its almost like the star shape focusses or cleans the light as it enters inside.

After getting myself a snack and a drink from the cafeteria, I decided to walk up the hill to the Castillo Di Santa Catalina, which didn't look like it was that far away. Yes I know, I've made this mistake before (and I never learn, so it will probably happen again at some point). In actual fact, it was very far away, but I followed this lovely path through the olive groves past pieces of defensive wall on the way there.

As you can see, there's not a cloud in the sky!

The castle gives you a fantastic viewpoint of Jaen and further afield. The castle is currently undergoing restoration (or at least it was when I was there) and more and more is being restored and opened to the public over time. Would love to go back and see it when it's fully finished!

I finished my visit to Jaen by just wandering through it's streets, grabbing interesting pics and sampling some of the tasty street food on offer there. It's a charming and very quiet place. Just one thing to note, I thought I'd try and catch a train to the bus station, but apparently it doesn't operate anymore. Further research shows its unlikely to ever run again due to many issues (money mainly) which is a shame, as it looks like it would be a very useful way to get around!