Úbeda Tour Part Two

The second stage of our look at the sights of Úbeda begins in the Plaza del Ayuntamiento, leaving the square via Calle Corazón de Jesús, where you'll find the Iglesia de Santo Domingo (16th Century, Gothic-Mudéjar and Renaissance) just round the corner from the Palacio Marqués del Contadero, where the local Tourist Office is now housed. They'll provide you with lots of info on Úbeda, Baeza and the surrounding area, so you should definitely pop in there and browse, even if it's just to check out the frequent concerts, exhibitions and events that you might be able to attend during your stay.

It's then worth heading down to the Plaza de San Lorenzo, which is dominated by the beautiful ruins of the Iglesia de San Lorenzo (16th Century, Renaissance) with its tower half overgrown with ivy overlooking the square. Just by the church is a little alleyway that heads out of the old town and straight to the countryside, as steep slope means further construction is difficult there. There are thus lovely views over rolling olive groves and hills in the distance, while along the town walls we can see the Puerta de Granada, another gateway to Úbeda.

Climbing back to the upper part of the Plaza de San Lorenzo, you'll encounter the Casa de las Torres, an impressive mansion and the oldest one of its kind in Úbeda (16th Century, Plateresque). The building has been restored and is now home to the local Art College and their lucky students. Next, a stroll up along Calle Jurado Gó mez will lead you to the Plaza del Marqués and the Palacio de Marqués de la Rambia (16th Century), which has now been converted into a posh hotel.

Turn left and you'll be out in the Calle Rastro and near the Plaza de Andalucía (the main town square). However, the final part of this section takes us right, leading out of the Plaza del Marqués along the Calle Medina, which then forks. The left fork takes us to the Iglesia de San Pedro (16th Century), while the street on the right ends up at the Real Monasterio de Santa Clara (13th-18th Century, Gothic-Mudéjar, Renaissance and Baroque), which is currently a convent, in spite of its name. A closed order live there, although they sell their homemade cakes through a hatch-buying them is a real experience, as is scoffing them!

The third part of our tour of Úbeda starts back at the Plaza del Ayuntamiento,just a hundred-odd yards from Santa Clara, so let's now jump there.