At the top of Cerro del Calvario stands the hermitage, a rectangular building measuring 16x7.3 meters. The origins of this ordeal are difficult to pin down: its oldest references are from the mid-eighteenth century. In 1999 it was demolished, and it was built again that same year. Little way to south

The Capuchinos Dark Chamber was installed in one of the towers of the Alameda auditorium, intended to recover the view offered by the old Capuchin viewpoint. Its location is considered the ideal one for contemplating the olive-growing countryside of Jaén, to have fantastic views of the monuments of the city, as well as to observe the wonderful nature that surrounds the city.

The Palacio de los Vilches is a Renaissance palace from the sixteenth century with a corner facade of six semicircular arches supported on eight Doric columns; among them busts of heroes of antiquity.

A robust arch with Gothic lines constitutes today the only visible remnant of what was the previous Iglesia de San Lorenzo, a parish created at the end of the thirteenth century. Located on Calle Almendros Aguilar.

The church is a temple of great architectural interest situated on the grounds of an Islamic mosque, the entire current church dates back to the first quarter of the sixteenth century, in the style known as Flamboyant Gothic.

The Royal Convent of Santa Clara, in the Gothic-Mudejar, Renaissance and Baroque styles, is thought to be the oldest convent in the city. It was built between the thirteenth and eighteenth centuries, and in 1979 it was granted the historical architectural monument designation.

The convent dates from 1580 and was built under the Order of the Mercedarian Fathers, who moved to live there and left a small house that they had near the Puerta Martos where they had their residence since the Re-conquest in 1288.

The small church is of medieval origin, being erected as a parish in the fourteenth century and built between the sixteenth and eighteenth centuries. A space with a steep slope that is softened by stone “cantons”, being delimited by a series of stately buildings of which there are still vestiges and among which the, Casa del Conde de Águila, stands out, better known as the “House of fear”.

It is one of the first temples in Jaén, as it dates from the second half of the fourteenth century, and was built on a mosque; proof of this is the existence of the remains of a Muslim minaret on Calle Martínez Molina.

Jaen is in the north east of Andalucia and tourists do not often visit Jaen. The mood of the city is more somber than other Andalucian towns, but the Cathedral is well worth a visit.

The bus station is on Plaza de Coca de la Pinera, 250m north of Plaza de la Constitucion. Alsina Graells runs 11 or more daily buses to Granada, seven or more to Baez and Ubeda and two to Cazorla. The Urena line travels up to eight times daily to Cordoba and three times daily to Seville. Other buses are for Guadix, Malaga, Almeria, Madrid, Valencia and Barcelona.

Jaen is also known – by historians – as the “Holy Kingdom”. This is because more or less the very same area we know today as Jaen Province, was long ago a kingdom, ruled first by Moors and then by Christians.

Jienense, as the locals are known, have a cuisine all their own – at least from their point of view. To the outsider, the menus of the day in Jaen will probably look very similar to those of any other town or village in Andalucia. To the insider, however – whether from Jaen or the rest of Andalucia – many dishes do offer a unique touch.