Mercado de Abastos San Francisco
Tucked behind the church of San Francisco in the heart of the old city, Jaén's main covered market is where chefs, grandmothers and curious travellers converge every morning to shop the best of the province's larder. The olive oil, the game meat and the local goat's cheese alone are worth the detour.
What to Buy
Jaén province produces nearly 20% of the world's olive oil, and the market stalls reflect that abundance: you will find half a dozen varieties of extra-virgin oil pressed from Picual, Arbequina and Picudo olives, sold in everything from 250ml tasting bottles to five-litre tins. The vendors are used to tourists and happy to offer a tasting on a crust of bread.
The game counters are a revelation if you come in autumn or winter — wild boar from the Sierra Mágina, partridge, rabbit and venison sit alongside domestic lamb from the Cazorla highlands. Pick up a vacuum-packed loin of wild boar as an extraordinary edible souvenir.
Eating Inside the Market
Several bar-counters inside the market open from 07:30 serving workers and early shoppers. Order a tostada con aceite y tomate — thick sourdough toast rubbed with tomato and flooded with local olive oil — and a café con leche for the definitive Jaén breakfast at around €2.50.
On Friday and Saturday mornings a small cluster of stalls outside the market's main entrance sells seasonal wild mushrooms, foraged herbs and homemade preserves brought in by smallholders from the surrounding villages. It is the closest thing Jaén has to a farmers' market.
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