Lying some 9km from Baeza, within the province of Jaen you will find Ubeda. The town roughly marks the centre of the province and has a northern Italy renaissance flavour. Over the centuries, the town has been involved in the government of the kingdom of Castile and as such has benefited from the generated wealth. This is reflected in the number of mansions and government buildings present here.

The Plaza de Vázquez de Molina is a square at the heart of the town that literally brims with stone and bronze. The buildings that line the square include the Capilla del Salvador, an illustration of the best Andalucian Renaissance, religious architecture. The Palacio de las Cadenas (Palace of Chains) was erected by a leading family in Ubeda and now houses the Town Council. The Church of Santa Maria was built on the site of an earlier church and contrasts sharply with the other buildings. In the same square is the Casa del Deán Ortega which in 1929 became one of Spain's first Paradors.

As you make your way through the streets of Ubeda, you will notice so many buildings of interest. On almost every corner is a palace of some kind. Take note of the Palacio de Vela de los Cobos which features a unique corner window and open plan upper storey. You will notice that Ubeda also has more than its fair share of churches, including San Pedro which illustrates the oldest Christian church in the town. Ubeda has a splendid parador that has its place in history firmly staked out. You can clearly see Ubeda in the Middle Ages. The original building is of the 16th century and this palace was converted into a parador in 1930. Even in 1930, before the tourists began to arrive, the parador was equipped with central heating and the bathrooms had hot and cold water. In 1930 it cost just 35 pesetas per night for full board.

The history of Ubeda is varied and the Arabs were the first to write the history of the town in the 8th century. The Moors also brought their customs and knowledge of astronomy, medicine and music. Throughout history, Ubeda has seen many battles and conquests from the arrival of the Moors to the reconquest when the Christians finally drove them out. The Catholic kings came here after the conquest of Granada, in particular, the Queen came here in 1484 and stayed for several days at the Santa Clara Convent.

Ubeda offers many local handicrafts including hand embroidered mats, illustrating Moslem craftsmanship, hand made pottery and iron work.

When it comes to cuisine, Ubeda is quite simple. Nobody claims that the food here is exquisite or even unique. When asking a local about the food, he replied 'basically bread, oil, some game, a little fish, something from the vegetable garden and whatever we can do with it'. The town does however yield a few local surprises. Simply walk into a restaurant and ask for the local speciality.

From Ubeda, take the 321 highway and explore Baeza, an important place even in Roman times and now a lovely stopping place with several pleasant squares and monuments. From Ubeda you can also explore more than a dozen tiny hamlets, steeped in Arab history.