Jaén, Spain: Capturing the Essence of Andalusian Charm

[@spainspeaks]

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[@Sean-h4l]

Thanks Stuart for the heads up re NordVPN. However, having said that one of the things that makes Jaen of interest is its historical architecture, you then zoomed in and out far too quickly - it would have been nice to see at least 10 second per building!

[@welshtoro3256]

I like Jaen. I first visited about 14 years ago and I foolishly drove into the centre. It's absolute bedlam to find parking unless you are a local. I was also in Jaen a couple of years ago and this time I got there via a very pleasant bus ride from Ubeda. Personally, I think use Ubeda as a base because it's wonderful and get the bus to Jaen. It's a fantastic ride through brilliant scenery. Jaen's Cathedral is an absolute stunner and a contender for my favourite in Spain. I sat in for a service on my first visit. The Arab Baths are a short walk from the Cathedral. My advice is to get an inexpensive taxi to see the Alcazar and Parador on the top of the mountain. Jaen really reminds you of an ancient city state because of its remoteness. The region is very poor with a large dependency on olive oil and all manner of olive based products. Nevertheless, I love the region and its geography very much.

[@harriettt9857]

Never been there . But Ubeda is fabulous so I have to get to Jaen sometime

[@welshtoro3256]

@@susanaescriba977 It's always been historically poor and underpopulated. The geography is difficult too. It's very rugged and mountainous making it unsuitable for a lot of farming but perfect for a crop like the olive which is pretty low maintenance. People in the UK pay a range of prices for olive oil depending on the quality. Don't forget that the majority of oil produced in Jaen goes into cheap blends. It's a very small minority which will pay more than £10 a bottle for excellent single varietals like Hojiblanca, Arbequina or Picual. Spanish oil isn't the only stuff on sale in the UK either. Supermarket shelves sell just as much Italian oil and there's oil from other countries too. Most British also fry stuff in cheaper oil like sunflower or rapeseed and, of course, butter. Besides due to the drought in Andalucia, which has wrecked the last two years crops, the prices of olive oil has gone up everywhere. People will just buy less of it so nobody wins. My wife is Spanish and we have a home in Andalucia so we often buy very good oil in Cordoba, Jaen, Malaga and from a really great producer in Almeria. We often take it back to the U.K because you cant buy it over there.

[@welshtoro3256]

@@susanaescriba977 Gracias ❤

[@welshtoro3256]

@@harriettt9857 Do try to. It's well worth it. Stick to my advice. 😇

[@SpanishKnight1]

I lived in Jaén for 4 months in 1997. Beautiful place and under appreciated

[@iangreenx]

@@susanaescriba977 Ouch! That was a bit negative! Do you know this person? They could have been working there for 4 months, maybe even with the view to staying, but it didn't work out. Who knows?

[@SpanishKnight1]

@@susanaescriba977 I wasn’t quite a tourist. I lived in southern Spain for two years as a missionary for the Mormon church. Jaén was just one stop in my 2 years there.

[@SpanishKnight1]

One of my favorite memories was of a family that came to church there that owned some acres of olive trees out near a small pueblo called Cabra de Santo Cristo. We got to go and help harvest olives for a day. It was a cool experience. Also, Jaén has a good museum as well as Arab Baths which are well preserved. The nearby town of Úbeda is a UNESCO heritage site. The church there is amazing.

[@SpanishKnight1]

@@susanaescriba977 I know a good deal of Spanish history. I’m very familiar with Roman Spain, Visigothic Spain, Moorish Spain, and Christian Spain. I attended Midnight mass at the cathedral in Jerez de la Frontera at Christmas 1996. 😄

[@SpanishKnight1]

As for being a Mormon missionary, progress is slow (as it is in all of Europe), but the Mormon church does have a temple in Madrid. We have a number of members in Spain.

[@LiamWilliams89]

I’ve lived here in Jaén for over 2 years now. It’s a very safe, calm place. The people are overall good, friendly people and try to help. There has been some good investment in recent years and there is a large shopping centre (Centro Comercial Jaén Plaza), which has recently opened in the last 12 months. They have revamped the football stadium and there are a lot more exhibitions in the city too. The main challenge I have found here as a 35 year old male that works online in tech, with a medium (but certainly not fluent) level of Spanish is that I have found it tougher to make friends here, in comparison to living in Seville & on the coast as I did before. In those places there is no denying having non-fluent Spanish is more forgiving given larger expat communities. Most of the English speakers that I have spoken to here in Jaén seem to be English teachers, so that seems the most popular route for most. Another thing is that you can buy properties here for under half what you would pay for an equivalent sq footage property on the coast or in a bigger city. Overall I would say Jaén is worth considering dependent on your situation, I believe it’s an under appreciated and under spoken part of Spain.

[@Cybrenel]

Jaén is a great small city. Around 20 minutes from my Spanish house. I visited in 2023 and again just recently, a huge amount has been spent on the infrastructure - couldn't help noticing how neat & tidy the roads and pavements were as we drove in with new trees and shrubs etc. As for the tram they are saying it will be 2025 when it finally runs. Jaén is an attractive place and imo very underated.

[@francischeung3877]

Thank you for taking us to Jaen!

[@andrewmeasures2312]

Great video Stuart. Thanks for sharing it with us. I like Jaen. Especialy Baeza and Ubeda and Cazorla is stuningly beautiful.

[@harriettt9857]

Ubeda n Sierra de Cazorla are stunningly beautiful as you say . Truly worth a visit

[@per6644]

Do you mean the province as well as the city of Jaén and the towns of Úbeda and Baeza? I am going to the city of Jaén to see a property and would love to take home some eyecandy from its surroundings!

[@andrewmeasures2312]

@@per6644 I was refering to the towns of Baeza and Úbeda and the city of Jaen but the entire province of Jaen has many beautiful places to see. Enjoy your trip.

[@robertrobert9800]

I was only there last week. It's as you call it. A super city.

[@davidbowie2046]

I lived around Jaen, Granada and Motril in the early 90's. Loved it. I went over with a good knowledge of Spanish, but when I got there no one could understand me. Then I realised with patience and a few Spanish friends I lived with that it was pretty slangy and a lot of words were abbreviated. Visited a few years back and it's changed, a lot. Lot's more tourists. Think I was only one of a few English people there back then.

[@bryankenney3421]

Lived in Madrid for a year back in 1986. My dad took me South to see the Alhambra in Granada, and on our way down, we stayed at the Castillo de Santa Catalina sitting on top of the surrounding mountains that was turned into a Paradores shortly before I lived in Spain. It was a great experience, however Jaen didn't look that good back then when we were there. Great video Stuart. Thanks for everything you do.

[@welshtoro3256]

The makeover of places like Jaen didn't really take place until Spain was well integrated in to the European Union and could receive EU funding to repair and regenerate degraded treasure such as Jaen. The country has been transformed from the 90's onwards.

[@jerrygerza7565]

Ah, ending with a little Stones motif. Pure class! 😊

[@Upsticks]

Great video, Jaen is a wonderful city. Sierra Cazorla in the Jaén province is also a great place to visit

[@Tet-Offensive1968]

Hi Stu, great video of Jaén. Thanks

[@RFEUFF]

Funny guy. Thank You kindly for the video, very informative. I love Andalucía, I visit often, haven’t been to Jean yet, but its on my list. Gracias Stewart, muy amable de tu parte. Un saludo a ti, a Jaén y Andalucía 👋🏻

[@joshbardwell5455]

Love this series. Please keep it up

[@fanjan7527]

Really enjoy these visits Stuart. Thank you for creating them.

[@aminabekbergenova8542]

I've lived in this wonderful town for half a year! It was hard to walk up and down the streets at first, but then I got used to it. The safest place on earth I've ever been to! Thank you for the vlog, it was like returning home for a while.

[@erikawallace3404]

I remember when I was about 8 years old having lunch in the Parador Nacional de Jaén... an incredible restaurant! Have to be honest can't remember what I ate but it was delcious. I can't remember the name of the Parador... Sta Catalina? I remember the olive groves and from there we went to Úbeda and Baeza - another Parador Nacional. I have a very funny story to tell.... At the time my father had a car which in Spain was called a "pato" (i.e. a Citroën 11) and Franco had been invited to a "finca" between these 2 towns. We were overtaken by lots of Dodges and Mercedes and along all the road, there were Guardia Civil wrapped up in their capes and resting on their arms (cemen?). When we got to the entrance of the house, the Guardia Civil insisted that we had to follow all the other cars... my fatherwith his beautiful French accent had alm the problems to.explain in Spanish thater were going to Baeza and that we weren't invited by Franco's host to the Cacería... We often thought that itwould have been a funny experience but we also knew it could have been dangerous. That was in winter 1966-1967 (celebrated Xmas 1966 in Mojacar and New Year in Baeza!!!) Incredible memories of a Spain long gone.... for bad or for worse... but incredible memories... After stays in France and Britain, coming back to Spain was like going back to the18th or 19th centuries depending of where one was!!!

[@Benito-lr8mz]

The magnificent Cathedral of Jaen is the big Reinasance style church in Spain by the way the Escorial in Madrid is the big construction in general in Reinasance style of the world.

[@alfredogimenez334]

Gracias amigo por considerar también a Jaén !

[@teddydavis2339]

Yes, Stu, I love this city. It gets pretty hot in the summer. I was there a few years ago. Besides going to a cafe and having a waiter to completely ignore me, I found the locals relatively friendly. There are a lot of cheap properties there. Enjoy!

[@andrescasado5975]

El parque de Cazorla y Segura es el más grande de Europa y tanto es así que puedes pasar varios años recorriendo caminos desconocidos y encontrando rincones nuevos

[@guayames]

Thanks for showing a city we drove bye but did not stop in. And yes, my Puerto Rican Spanish was difficult to use in Andalucía, was always asked where I learned it!

[@alex2765]

I've been living in Jaén for 30 years so know it pretty well😊 The advantages; it's more affordable than the bigger Andalucian cities, it's very compact and easy to get around, lots of history and nature nearby and has a great food scene ranging from Michelin restaurants to typical family run bars. The disadvantages; summer heat although it rarely stays over 40 for long, bad pollen in April and May due to the olives and of course if you don't like hills it's not the best place to live.

[@harriettt9857]

Lovely tour of Jaen . Interesting , busy town

[@juvenalsdad4175]

I went there last year with the adult education institute where I was doing classes. We had a guide for the four days we were there, but my jerezano friends couldn't understand him at all! I think (for once) I actually did better, being used to having to concentrate on a language in which I am ok but not fluent. Úbeda and Baeza are fantastic if you like history, and the Sierra de Cazorla is spectacular. One thing that I noticed that not many people seem to know about, is that there are small electricity power plants that run on burning olive stones.

[@juvenalsdad4175]

@@susanaescriba977 Tell me about it. There are people I've known for years, and I still can't understand them.

[@leonorlopez7932]

Thanks for sharing

[@gwenwilson6743]

Hi Stu, great video, i have never been to Jaen but it looks so old and interesting. Keep up the good work loving these videos 😊

[@dawndavis472]

Hey Stu, great video! I'm in Jaén now and it's beautiful. You weren't kidding about those hills though! Google took me on a wild goose chase trying to find a mirador and I will be feeling it tomorrow!

[@joegriffin6699]

Great video, lots of really relevant information. Thank you very much.

[@gabrielemcnicholl6174]

Nice video. Actually Jaen is quite big, thought it was smaller. Love videos like this.

[@janetlombardi2314]

Thank you for another walkabout, Stuart. It's nice to live in an area not far from the sea for me anyway. However, it is a decent enough looking city. 😊

[@martindouglas9839]

Mil gracias por el vídeo Stuart lo parece un gran bar y también muy barato mi tipo de bar amigo 😊

[@goldgeologist5320]

Okay the ending was very funny!

[@seanflewin9803]

Interesting vid highly enjoyable

[@djvictornova9188]

Another great video ... 👍

[@iangreenx]

Hi Stu. Thanks for another brilliant video. I love these walks of your and thats another place added to my bucket list. 😊

[@andrescasado5975]

Gracias por acordarte de Jaén. La estación de ferrocarril está muy abajo y lejos del centro histórico

[@euroschmau]

I'm going here today, looking forward to it!

[@mr-vet]

I’ve been looking at homes for sale in Spain online (and in person, when we visited my wife’s family in Barcelona last year) for a couple of years…I’ve seen a number of properties that are quite nice in and around Jaen here on KZbin and idealista

[@Cybrenel]

We own a house about 20 minutes from Jaén city. The province is beautiful with incredible vistas. In the villages property is incredibly good value. We never considered Jaén until we came and explored a little. Wouldn't want to move anywhere else now!

[@anacasanova7350]

En España todas las ciudades y regiones tienen su cerveza, y todas buenas. Las que no son buenas son las que cuestan una lata 50cts.

[@guayames]

Say a few rows from Franco in the Corrida del Generalisimo in Madrid Plaza de Toros in 1964. Unforgettable!

[@janethaver3375]

Great video, thank you Stuart

[@AdamSahr-cj4kf]

Stu, those were naranjos amargos, bitter, not sour. Bees love their flowers, el azahar...

[@baycast]

Thank you, Stu, for another most enjoyable video. It's been many years since I visited this beautiful part of the country. We used to have a day trip to buy the adorable "Los Vinos de Jaén". Now a days I'd buy the olive oil. 😂

[@thanq2467]

Thank you for sharing your visit to Jaén Stuart, much appreciated. Did you have the chance to visit the Parador while there?

[@mrn13]

Looks spectacular, just compare that to a random equivalent city in the UK such as Bradford or Coventry

[@Dakiniwoman]

I got a bit confused at first as I used to go to a Village on the Costa Del Sol also called Jaen, I went many times and it was just a small village, obviously not this City. I see a lot of Graffiti as you walk and not a very clean place, it seems. If only their was a strict jail-time sentence for anyone caught doing any kind of Graffiti, Worldwide. I do love the Cathedral, I wish I had visited that City when I lived in Spain for nine years.

[@jmo9187]

Nice video. Thank you!

[@semsemeini7905]

What about the castle, Parador on the hill and the little train.

[@robnorris4770]

Me parece un poco raro que las cervezas se sirven en vasos diferentes. It’s strange that the different beers are served in different glasses. Is that because the beer makers supply the glasses?

[@coffermartin77]

Great video, Stu. Just wondering, was that your uncle there right at the end? And you never told us of your Karaoke golden voice skills? PS: Did that tram arrive?

[@anacasanova7350]

Jaén pobre ?🤔 Es la capital del aceite de oliva.😂 El oro de los españoles.❤

[@jonniesantos]

…just can’t get away from the graffiti. 😔 Lovely tour - thank you. I usually Google a little while watching as your content is always interesting. Oh, are there public toilets while out and about?

[@martindouglas9839]

Have you ever been to Cullera and el Faro de Cullera .has anyone else.cost of living bars ext any local bars there .cheers Mart

[@toddboothbee1361]

Looks like my kind of place, but for the heat. I find the heat in Texas suffocating, and there are air cons everywhere here. Still, Jaen dwellers find a way, so perhaps would I.

[@toddboothbee1361]

@@susanaescriba977 I thought it wasn't common. I friend who lived in Portugal said he rarely found a place with good heating or air conditioning, and he said he believed it was the same for Spain. I'm glad that this might not be a problem. Thanks!

[@toddboothbee1361]

@@susanaescriba977 "It is rarely found in homes, but is more common in public spaces. Still, each successive heat wave creates more demand for air-conditioning, and experts have projected that the demand will only grow, partly as a result of climate change.Aug 5, 2022" -- New York Times Magazine Also: "Starting on Aug. 9 and lasting through November 2023, commercial buildings will have to keep summer air conditioning above 80 degrees -- matching a policy in place at public buildings -- and winter heating below 66 degrees Fahrenheit (19 degrees Celsius).Aug 8, 2022" Bloomberg Aparentlly the Spanish, or the powers that rule in Spain prefer heat and cold over spending money. So my assumption wasn't altogether ill-founded.

[@toddboothbee1361]

@@susanaescriba977 I did thank you the first time around. However, you wanted to engage me relying on my friend who lived many years in Portugal who suspected that Spain was likewise without an abundance of air conditioning in homes and apartments. Perhaps it was your inconsistent English, but I caught a rather unpleasant tone from you. So I checked the information myself, and so far have found that my suspicions about Spain’s lack of A/C was likely correct. It’s possible the information is now out of date, it being at most 2 years old. I will dig deeper. If you are in need of a thanks, I will thank you again and wish you well. Doing so is relatively easy, and it cost me not much of my cash.

[@toddboothbee1361]

@@susanaescriba977 I'm glad to see that you're not.

[@toddboothbee1361]

@@susanaescriba977 Creo que tenemos la barrera del idioma. O eres una troll muy aburrida.

[@stevo728822]

Internet says it can hit 46C in July. Unbearable during the Summer.

[@goldgeologist5320]

Oh my! Like Texas or worse. That is a definite no!

[@robertrobert9800]

I am moving to Jaen from Ireland. I wonder if there are many irish or British, aussie American eyc ppl in Jaen provenance

[@goldgeologist5320]

Thanks for another excellent tour Stu. So sad to see Spanish cities trashed with graffiti.

[@clairehowe7708]

Thanks Stuart, very interesting walk around Jaen; I can't believe that their tram system still isn't working (all that wasted money!!). My house is in Jaen province & I love the area although, sadly, I don't make over from the UK as often as I would like 😢. There certainly are thousands of olive trees 😂!!

[@Eurobazz]

The fact that the tramway has remained inactive for so many years indicates how badly run the city is. If the capital of Jaen province can't sort out its finances then it doesn't bode well for other villages, towns and cities in the province. I think I'll give it a miss the next time I'm in Spain.

[@johanneslaven2018]

Why did you call it hulan, if its jaen

[@spainspeaks]

Hi, how would you pronounce it in Spanish?

[@PondKoiTipsTricks]

It would seem that the people of the Canary Islands want it both ways they don’t want tourists but they want the jobs that tourists bring the economy is based primarily on tourism, with 47% of workers in this sector. They would also see a decline in food products and increase in pricing they would see a decline in the airports making it harder for locals to travel. Would brits and Germans and Dutch people want to continue to live on the islands if travel was difficult. So, you would see a decline in the islands and the young moving out.

[@Simonprado45]

The province of Jaen is fantastic. The City of Jaen is not the best to visit in Andalucía.

[@craphead9842]

Stu...How many times did you say the word "Jaén" in the video IMO way over the top... Your headline states clearly where you are.... Tony cuenca

[@chrissierichards6802]

Very Hot in Salar too. 40 to 48. In Summer xx

[@michaeloconnor9465]

Car is king is my kind of city. Cyclists cause congestion, and cycle lanes where I live are the main congestion causers.