Places of Interest

The cathedral is located in the center of the city and it is impossible to be mistaken with any other building. The construction of this renaissance style cathedral began in 1532 and finished in the 18 th century. Initially this cathedral was build over an old mosque but in the 16 th century when Andrés de Valdelvira was in charged of the construction the cathedral got its final renaissance mark.

After the cathedral this is probably the next important historical heritage of the Jaén city. It is interesting about this church that out of 3 doors the oldest one is made in gothic style and the other two are made in renaissance style.

This palace was built in the 16th century. Under it there are some Arabic baths that date back to the 10th century when the influence of the Muslims was exceptionally strong in this part of Spain. These baths were declared a national monument in 1917 and later in the 1931 the palace was also declared a historically artistic monument. Today the palace is a museum.

This castle is strategically positioned on the Santa Catalina hill in order to give an excellent view over the whole city of Jaén. Over the years 3 different fortresses were built before this castle and the remaining of these buildings can still be seen today. The most significant characteristic about this castle is the Cross Viewpoint from where the visitors can enjoy the breathtaking panorama.

Built between the 16th and the 17th century as a Royal Monastery soon after became administration headquarters of the University of Santa Catalina Martyr and later it was used as a hospital. Today this monument is being used for the headquarters of the Public Historical Record office of the Jaén province.

There are 3 larger museums in Jaén. The museum of Arts and Popular traditions and the Museum of Naïf Art are located in the Villadompardo Palace. The provincial museum of Jaén divided into two larger areas: fine arts and archeology.