Plaza Andalucía

You’re now on Plaza Andalucía, still often called Plaza del Reloj—the Clock Square—by locals. You’re in the heart of modern Úbeda: this is the city’s main meeting point, where its busiest shopping streets converge and where the climb toward the historic centre begins along Calle Real. In the Middle Ages, this space lay just outside the city walls near the old Puerta de Toledo and was already used as a market square, which explains why it has remained a hub of trade and movement to this day. Behind you rises the tower that gives the square its name, the Torre del Reloj. Built on the old Muslim wall, it served for centuries as a watchtower before becoming a clock tower, and it remains one of Úbeda’s most recognisable landmarks. At the centre of the square stands the monument to General Leopoldo Saro Marín, an early twentieth-century Spanish officer; his bronze statue, later converted into a fountain, still shows the bullet marks left from the Civil War. The square itself, lined with buildings from different periods, blends traces of the medieval past with Baroque religious architecture and more recent constructions, marking the transition between the old walled town and the modern districts. You’ll also find the tourist office here, right next to the tower. The tower can be visited and offers a panoramic view over the city from the top, although entry is ticketed and it closes for part of the year.