With around 640,000 inhabitants, Łódź is one of Poland's largest cities and the capital of its namesake voivodeship. Its ascent was driven by the textile industry: the first textile factory was established in 1826, by 1900 over 300,000 people lived in the city, and in 1904 approximately 70,000 workers were employed in 546 factories. From this period, industrialists' palaces and brick factories remain, and Polish, German, Jewish, and Russian traditions still shape the city's cuisine today.
The backbone of the city is the Piotrkowska, a several-kilometer-long promenade featuring Art Nouveau facades, courtyards, and the entertainment complex OFF Piotrkowska. Izrael Poznański’s former factory was transformed into Manufaktura, housing museums, restaurants, and the ms2 art gallery; his palace stands right next to it. Księży Młyn is the workers' settlement built by industrialist Karl Scheibler, with brick houses and factory buildings.
New cultural venues such as the former EC1 power plant, with its planetarium and film center, complement the industrial monuments. Large-format murals, many of which have been created since 2011 during the Urban Forms Foundation festival, have also earned Łódź the reputation of a city of murals.
Sights in Łódź
Discover the most important sights and attractions
1Piotrkowska Street (Ulica Piotrkowska)
The main street of Łódź stretches approximately 4.9 km south from Plac Wolności and is lined with Art Nouveau and Historicist buildings. In its courtyards, restaurants, bars, and shops have set up, for instance, in the former factory complex OFF Piotrkowska at number 138/140.
The industrial settlement of the textile manufacturer Karl Scheibler emerged from 1870 onwards as a largely independent place with a spinning mill and brick workers' houses, known as Familoki. The complex includes the palace from 1875, which Scheibler's son-in-law Edward Herbst inhabited, and is now a department of the Muzeum Sztuki.
The former power plant beside Łódź Fabryczna station is now a cultural center with Science & Technology Center, Planetarium, the 2023-opened Comic Center, and the National Center for Film Culture.
The former cotton factory of industrialist Izrael Poznański, who acquired the site in 1871, operated until 1997 and was reopened in 2006 as a shopping and leisure complex with restaurants, a hotel, and a cinema. The site also houses the Factory Museum and, since 2008, ms2, the modern art gallery of Muzeum Sztuki.
The palace on Ogrodowa was built between 1888 and 1903 for the family of the manufacturer Izrael Poznański in the style of Neo-Renaissance and Neo-Baroque and is located right next to Manufaktura. Today, the Museum of the City of Łódź presents its exhibitions here.
The historic train station is a memorial site for the victims of the Litzmannstadt Ghetto, which the German occupiers established on February 8, 1940, in Łódź. In 1944, more than 150,000 Jews were deported from here to the Kulmhof and Auschwitz extermination camps; since 2005, the station building has served as a memorial.
Restaurant at Hotel Traugutta 12, a converted old tenement house, featuring a bright dining room on the ground floor and a darker cellar space. The cuisine combines modern Polish dishes with European influences, and the Guide Michelin awards it a Bib Gourmand.
Restaurant in the former ballroom of the Grand Hotel an der Piotrkowska, which has been welcoming guests for over 130 years. Historic ambiance meets a contemporary interior, the cuisine is modern and fresh. Recommended by the Guide Michelin.
Steakhouse in a former factory in the newly revitalized Ogrody Geyera district on Piotrkowska, with brick walls and an open kitchen. The focus is on dry-aged steaks from the charcoal grill. Recommended by the Guide Michelin.
Soup made from sour rye Żur with potatoes, a dish of simple working-class cuisine that is one of Łódź's typical meals.
Prażoki
Hearty potato dish, served with cracklings, sauerkraut or salt herring.
Żulik
A bread that is counted among the typical baked goods of Łódź cuisine.
Culture in Łódź
Film City
Founded in 1948, the National Film School made Łódź a film city; its alumni include Roman Polański and Andrzej Wajda. The Kinematography Museum in Scheibler Palace showcases film history, and EC1 is home to the National Centre for Film Culture, featuring a museum, archive, and cinema.
Industry and Remembrance
The Muzeum Sztuki dates from the 1929-1932 modern art collection by the a.r. group, and now holds some 17,000 objects; its ms2 gallery is in Manufaktura. Its history also includes the Ghetto Litzmannstadt, established by German occupiers in 1940. A memorial to its victims is at Radegast Station.
Former Ramisch Cotton Factory at Piotrkowska 138/140, which today houses bars, clubs, restaurants, food trucks, studios, and design companies. The courtyard is liveliest in the evenings.
Brewpub on Tymienieckiego, located in the former Grohman cotton spinning mill in Księży Młyn. The beers are brewed in-house and served unfiltered and unpasteurised, plus there's a menu ranging from burgers to ramen.
Getting There
Northeast of the city, the A1 (north-south) and A2 (east-west) motorways intersect at the Łódź Północ junction; the A1 bypasses Łódź to the east. In the city centre is the underground Łódź Fabryczna station, which reopened in December 2016; another major station is Łódź Kaliska. Łódź-Władysław Reymont Airport is located about 6 km southwest of the centre, with bus lines 65A and 65B connecting it to the city.
Getting Around the City
The municipal transport company MPK Łódź operates a tram network, on which electric trams have been running since 1898, as well as numerous bus lines. Piotrkowska is best explored on foot. If you arrive by car, it's best to arrange parking with your accommodation beforehand.
