Welcome to ubedabaezaguide.com!
Welcome to the first English-language web guide solely devoted to Úbeda and Baeza, two of the jewels of Eastern Andalusia and Renaissance Spain. Please use the above menu to find your way around the site. Ubedabaezaguide.com provides a highly personal view of the two neighbouring towns and their surrounding area, based on the experience of a Brit who lives in Spain, whose wife is from Úbeda and who's been visiting the area regularly for the past fifteen years. This is not a translation of tourist office leaflets, nor a cribbing of widely available guidebooks. It's a subjective insight for the foreign visitor with as much useful advice as I can muster.
Hospital de Santiago, Úbeda
East of Córdoba, north of Granada and west of Almería, Úbeda and Baeza have jointly been declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. This is mainly thanks to the incredible depth and range of Renaissance architecture and monuments in their old towns. Úbeda is the bigger of the two, with its sights more spread out, while Baeza boasts a highly compact old town that scarcely seems to have been touched by modern hand. This guide provides a virtual tour of both towns.
Behind Baeza Cathedral
Out in the nearby countryside Úbeda and Baeza also offer the chance to visit an area of outstanding natural beauty - El Parque Natural Sierras de Cazorla, Segura y Las Villas. Great views, decent walking, exceptional Mediterranean flora and fauna all abound amidst picture-book towns and villages such as Cazorla, Hornos and Segura de la Sierra
Meanwhile, the gastronomy of Úbeda and Baeza is quite simply a foodie's dream. A lack of marketing in the past means that relatively unknown yet superb products are still widely available. The local olive oil can justly claim to rank among the best in the world, while the local breed of lamb (cordero segureño) is delicious. Tapas culture is key to society in Úbeda and Baeza, as a free aperitivo is offered with your beer, giving you the chance to taste all sorts of local delicacies, from snails and black pudding to aubergines. This guide will try to point you in the direction of a few of the most interesting bars and restaurants.
I hope you enjoy this website and that it encourages you to visit Úbeda, Baeza and the surrounding area. If so, please visit our accommodation page for a general guide to where to stay, plus a personal recommendation of an exceptional casa rural.