We will start our tour in the Plaza de San Ildefonso, an old square outside the city walls where we will talk about the oldest Christian religious temple in Jaén, the Basilica of San Ildefonso, founded in 1248. Right in this square, we will find a small slab where we can see the figure of the fearsome Lagarto de la Magdalena, a powerful reptile that terrorized the people of Jaén since time immemorial, and we will begin a journey that will take us to the place where its lair was located: the Barrio de la Magdalena.

We will arrive at the Cathedral of La Asunción, unique in the world as it is the only cathedral on the planet with balconies everywhere. It is also a reliquary cathedral that houses one of the most important relics of Christianity, the Holy Face. We will also talk about some of the most disturbing mysteries surrounding this iconic temple, including the popular Mona de la Catedral, which today represents one of the most baffling enigmas of the temple.

We will walk along Calle Maestra and stop in front of what was once the palace of Miguel Lucas de Iranzo, the Constable of Jaén, and talk about him and his excessive ambition, which led him to transform Jaén and turn it into his own personal court, where he entertained the elite with grand parties in his palace. This lavish lifestyle aroused great jealousy and made him many enemies. We will talk about these palace intrigues. Later, we will arrive at the Arco de San Lorenzo, the remains of the old medieval church of San Lorenzo, which was built in the 13th century but disappeared in the 19th century. It is one of the most emblematic places in the capital and also houses the fantastic story of how the body of King Ferdinand IV, “El Emplazado,” was laid in state. We will recount the intriguing story that led to the king's death in Jaén as a result of a particular curse…

On the way to the Magdalena neighborhood, we will pass by the Civil War air raid shelter and talk about one of the darkest episodes in Spanish history, which also affected the city with a terrible bombing that took hundreds of lives on a fateful afternoon in April 1937.

We will stop in front of the Arab Baths of “El Niño,” with their 450 m2, making them the largest Arab baths in Spain. We will talk about how they were used and we will also be moved by the story of Sultan Ali, whose murder gave rise to a long-standing legend that his ghost still haunts the warm room of these same baths.

We will end our Lagarto Trail in the popular Magdalena neighborhood, the most historic neighborhood in the capital, where we will tell the story of the Lagarto de la Magdalena and reveal why our steps have taken us from San Ildefonso to La Magdalena. What kind of connection exists between these iconic temples in the city of Jaén?