Lunch in Ubeda and Baeza

Lunch is normally the main meal of the day in Andalusia; it’s served 1.45-3.30 p.m. and usually involves a set menu or à la carte meal. Set menus tend to be cheaper – and sometimes nastier – although they can be excellent value for money and often throw in cheap plonk as part of the deal. As for ordering your food, it’s important to remember that many restaurants will hand you an à la carte menu when you walk in, but have a set menu available if you ask. N.B. The carta is à la carte, while the menú is set!

The starters are usually larger than in the U.K. and may involve a stew or salad, while the main course is invariably meat or fish with a very limited range of veg. Don’t forget that veggies struggle in Spain, and Úbeda and Baeza are no exception. Even peas or artichokes are served with diced ham, while pulses are popular, often as a starter, but in stews that also contain meat or sausages of some description.

A typical breakfast in Ubeda and Baeza

Let’s move on to the meals of the day, inevitably beginning with breakfast. As the working day starts so early and lunch is so late, many people leave the office for a few minutes mid-morning to have breakfast out. This leads to many bars specialising in the first meal of the day. Some of them have made quite an art out of a humble slice of toast, often revolving around the omnipresent olive oil that the locals love so much. Toast is served with oil to be poured over it, freshly grated tomato to be spread on it, garlic to be rubbed on and salt to be sprinkled over it. 

Tapas in Ubeda and Baeza

it’s worth mentioning that Úbeda and Baeza really stand out for their tapas. It's worth noting the differing culture that lies behind tapas in different parts of Andalusia: around the Seville area (i.e. western Andalusia) you have to pay if you want a tapa with your drink, but in many parts of eastern Andalusia you get a tapa or aperitivo for free. In Úbeda and Baeza these are often famously large and you can even make a light supper out of them. Bigger appetites can order any extra dishes, called raciones, to share. 

Iglesia de Santa Cruz, Baeza

The Iglesia de Santa Cruz (late 13^th Century) is Romanic, the only one of its kind in Baeza to have remained reasonably intact. There’s beautiful architecture wherever you look in this square and it’s worth just standing and taking in your surroundings. Few old towns in the whole of Spain can claim to be as intact as in Baeza and the effect is magical as you seem to be transported back in time, not a block of flats in sight!

Iglesia de Santa Cruz, Baeza

El Palacio de Jabalquinto

From the Antigua Universidad you’ll follow straight on down Calle Beato Ávila until we reach the Plaza de Santa Cruz, a gorgeous square where two of Baeza’s most prized monuments stand opposite each other. They’re highly unusual in style in the context of so much Renaissance architecture, as the Palacio de Jabalquinto is Gothic, although with an inevitable Renaissance touch in the shape of its patio. 

El Palacio de Jabalquinto

Calle Romanones in Baeza

Once in the old town, I recommend taking Calle Romanones, and it’s here that the barrage of monuments really starts as the Antigua Universidad - old university - and the Iglesia de San Juan Evangelista (16^th Century), which used to be the university chapel, both come into view. Outstanding examples of Baeza’s architectural riches, they’re just a taste of what’s to come.

Calle Romanones in Baeza

La Casa del Populo in Baeza

Continuing with our tour of Baeza, at a right angle to the Antiguas Carnicerías is the Casa del Pópulo (16^th Century, Plateresque), also not to be sniffed at. It is now home to the local tourist office and is thus definitely worth a stop before continuing on our tour by entering the old town via some steps that lead up from the left-hand corner of the square.