Baeza is tiny, compact and provincial, with a perpetual Sunday air about it. This beautiful town has around 16,000 inhabitants and is located in the municipality of Jaen in the province of Andalucia in Southern Spain.

The transport links are excellent to and from the city with regualr rail links from Madrid, Malaga, Sevilla and all the other major cities in the area.

At its heart are the Plaza Mayor - in fact comprised of two linked plazas, the Plaza de la Constitucíon at the southern end with a garden, and the smaller Plaza de España to the north - and paseo , flanked by cafés and very much the hub of the town's limited animation.

The Plaza de Leones , an appealing cobbled square enclosed by Renaissance buildings, stands slightly back at the far end. Here, on a rounded balcony, the first Mass of the Reconquest is reputed to have been celebrated; the mansion beneath it houses the turismo ( Mon-Fri 9am-2.30pm, Sat 10am-1pm; tel 953 740 444 ), where you can pick up a map ( which conveniently incorporates an Úbeda town map as well) and English-language walking-tour brochure of the town. There are no charges to enter any of Baeza's monuments but you may offer the guardian a small propina (tip).