The city of Łódź – difficult to pronounce, easy to visit!
- Jump to why Łódź is worth visiting
- Jump to how to get to Łódź by train, by car, by plane
- Jump to the Zoo and its new part – ‘Orientarium’
- Jump to the “Aquapark Fala” water park
- Jump to the Science and Technology Center, playing/learning space for children, planetarium
- Jump to the “Mandoria” – the biggest year-round indoor theme park in Poland, 15 km from Łódź
- Jump to escape rooms in Łódź (available in Polish or English)
Why Łódź is worth visiting
The city of Łódź is the fourth-largest city in Poland (after Warsaw, Kraków, and Wrocław). It is an interesting and fun destination for a weekend visit for families. The city is located in the center of Poland and is well-connected with the rest of the country.
And don’t be discouraged by the name of the city – so difficult to pronounce for foreigners, we know! How to pronounce Łódź? Ł = English ‘w’, ó = English ‘oo’, dź = this is the most difficult part… try to pronounce it as the first sound in Polish ‘good morning’ – dzień dobry – which you have probably already mastered to perfection:)
A typical visit to Łódź starts with a walk along Piotrkowska Street – one of the most famous streets in Poland and a long walking promenade with shops, cafes, restaurants (over 4 kilometers, location on Google map).
The next popular tourist attractions are related to the industrial history of the city. Łódź in Poland is associated with an industrial city – the city’s atmosphere is created by post-industrial buildings and characteristic red brick buildings.
Tourists visit Manufaktura (website, location on Google map) – a 19th-century factory transformed into a shopping center with restaurants, cinema, theater, hotel, bowling alley, playgrounds, and museums (The Factory Museum – where you will discover the history of textile and textile plant developed here in the second half of the 19th century; MS2 Art Museum – in the historic 19th-century weaving building, works from the art collection of XX and XXI centuries are presented).
Another “industrial” attraction of Łódź is the Museum of Textiles (Centralne Muzeum Włókiennictwa, website, location on Google map). The museum has one of the richest collections of contemporary artistic fabrics in the world. It is a museum of technology, industry, art, design, and fashion. It is a modern, interesting museum, especially for people who are interested in fashion. A visit to this museum can be combined with a walk in the nearby park.
Another important aspect of the city is connected with the history of Łódź – multiculturalism. In the nineteenth century (the period of the city’s fastest development), Łódź was made up of four nations together – Poles, Germans, Jews, Russians. Cultures and languages intertwined, traces of which have remained in Łódź’s cuisine and language to this day.
How to get to Łódź by train, by car, by plane
The city of Łódź is located in central Poland. It is the capital of one of the 16 provinces in Poland. Łódź’s location on Google map.
How to get to Łódź by train
There are several railway stations in Łódź, including Łódź Fabryczna – the largest and most modern underground railway station in Łódź (location on Google map) and Łódź Widzew (location on Google map). Train timetable. The most popular domestic direct connections include Warsaw (the shortest travel time: 1 hr 25 mins, to Łódź Fabryczna railway station), Wrocław (3 hrs 08 mins, to Łódź Widzew railway station), Poznań (3 hrs 07 mins, to Łódź Widzew railway station), Gdańsk (4 hrs 47 mins, to Łódź Widzew railway station), Katowice (2 hrs 46 mins, to Łódź Widzew railway station), Lublin (3 hrs 48 mins, to Łódź Widzew railway station), Toruń (2 hrs 23 mins, to Łódź Widzew railway station), Kraków (2 hrs 48 mins, to Łódź Widzew railway station).
How to get to Łódź by car
The city of Łódź is well connected with other cities in Poland. Approximate (depending on traffic) travel time from: Warsaw 2 hrs 30 mins, Wrocław 2 hrs 30 mins, Poznań 2 hrs 30 mins, Kraków 3 hrs 25 mins, Gdańsk 3 hrs 20 mins, Katowice 2 hrs 20 mins, Lublin 3 hrs 10 mins, Toruń 2 hr.
How to get to Łódź by plane
There is an airport in Łódź that serves several international connections (including Dublin, London). Łódź Airport (in Polish: Port Lotniczy Łódź) is located in the south-west part of the city, 6 km from the city center (location on Google map, website in English).
The Zoo in Łódź and its new part – the Orientarium
The new part – Orientarium – is opened to visitors from April 29, 2022.
For several years, the Łódź Zoo has been developing a huge new project – Orientarium. The Orientarium is dedicated to the fauna and flora of Southeast Asia. The author of the Orientarium project in Łódź is the same studio that designed the Africarium in the city of Wrocław (our tips on visiting the Zoo and Africarium in Wrocław).
The main attraction of the Orientarium is the underwater tunnel where visitors can observe the coral reef and aquarium for sharks and rays. The tunnel is 26 m long and 2.4 m high. The average depth of the reservoir is 6 m, and at the deepest point – 8 m. The space above the acrylic tunnel was filled with 2.5 million liters of water.
Plants, shrubs, ivy, and grasses planted in the new part of the Zoo come, among others, from Laos, India, Australia, Japan, the Philippines. In addition to gardens, 7 ocean reservoirs and 3 freshwater reservoirs, the Orientarium has enclosures for, among others, Indian elephants, panthers, Malay bears, gibbons, and aviaries for hornbills and Balinese starlings.
Photo source: the Zoo in Łódź
“Aquapark Fala” – water park in the city of Łódź
The outdoor zone of the water park in Łódź includes a year-round swimming pool, seasonal inflatable slides, a seasonal slide, an outdoor sports pool, an outdoor recreational pool, a paddling pool for children, playground.
The indoor zone includes year-round slides, a saline pool, sports pools, a recreational pool, a water playground with an octopus, a rope bridge, a water bar, a wave pool, a paddling pool for children, a water playground with a shell, a water playground with a ship.
- Location: Aquapark Fala, al. Unii Lubelskiej 4 Street, 94-208 Łódź (location on Google map). 3 km from the center of Łódź.
- Website in Polish. Facebook page. Instagram.
- Online tickets.
Photo source: Aquapark Fala
Science and Technology Center, playing/learning space for children aged 3-10, planetarium
It is the largest Science and Technology Center in Poland. It is housed in an over one-hundred-year-old power plant in Łódź. What distinguishes the Science and Technology Center in Łódź is its unusual location in a building of the first power plant in Łódź (built in 1907).
The main attractions of this place are the science museum, playing/learning space for children aged 3-10, and planetarium.
- The science museum: Science and Technology Center (Centrum Nauki i Techniki EC1).
- The Science and Technology Center (over 8000 m² and 5 floors!) was open in 2018 and includes 3 main zones to explore: energy production process, development of our civilization (science and history), and “Microworld – Macroworld” – the presentation of objects and phenomena that too small or too big to observe.
- Location on Google map.
- Website, Facebook, Instagram.
- Playing/learning space for children aged 3-10: “Ulica Żywiołów” (The Street of the Elements).
- The Street of Elements (“Ulica Żywiołów) is a space organized around the theme of the five elements: Water, Earth, Life, Fire, Air. These are 5 thematic zones where children independently expand their knowledge about the world by playing and conducting experiments.
- Location on Google map.
- Website, Facebook, Instagram.
- The Planetarium.
- The Planetarium in Łódź is one of the most modern digital planetariums in Poland. Viewers can watch shows on a dome with a diameter of 14 meters. The repertoire includes screenings for children, adolescents, adults, preschool, and school groups. Minimum age for children – over 5 years old.
- Location on Google map.
- Website, Facebook, Instagram.
Photo source: Centrum Nauki i Techniki EC1
“Mandoria” – the biggest year-round indoor theme park in Poland, opened in 2021
The Mandoria City of Adventure theme park takes you back to 1521 – the Renaissance, a fascinating age of discovery and travel. It is a year-round park with over 20 indoor attractions, including 2 roller coasters, a two-level Venetian carousel, a 6-track slide. Most of the attractions are already available to children over 90 cm tall, and adults can use all rides, carousels and other attractions of Mandoria.
The park is open all year round, regardless of the season.
- Opening: July 2021.
- Location: Mandoria Miasto Przygód, ul. Dąbrowskiego 1, 95-030 Rzgów (location on Google map). 15 km from Łódź, 145 km from Warsaw, 220 km from Kraków, 190 km from Katowice, 215 km from Wrocław, 240 km from Poznań, 350 km from Gdańsk.
- Website in Polish. Facebook page.
- Online tickets.
Photo source: Mandoria
Escape rooms in ŁÓDŹ (available in Polish or English)
Tkalnia Zagadek Escape Rooms in two locations in Łódź
- Location no. 1: Tkalnia Zagadek, Łódź, Kościuszki 1 Street (location on Google Maps). Six rooms (available in English) for children and adults, with different difficulty levels – the difficulty level of the room can be checked on the website. Three rooms dedicated to kids/families, available in Polish only: Magiczny las, Statek kosmiczny, Piraci.
- Location no. 2: Tkalnia Zagadek, Łódź, Piotrkowska 76/5 Street. Four rooms (available in English) for children and adults, with different difficulty levels – the difficulty level of the room can be checked on the website.
- Example room/scenario: “Szaman”/”Shaman”. Travel to the Amazon rainforest on a dangerous expedition. Will you manage to escape the natives before they sacrifice you to the God of the Jungle?
- Offers for birthday parties and school groups are available.
- Website in Polish. Website in English. Facebook. Instagram.
Drzwi Tajemnic Escape Room in Łódź
- Location: Drzwi Tajemnic, Łódź, Źródłowa 47 Street (location on Google Maps).
- One room available in Polish or English: “Klątwa Czarnoksiężnika”/”The Warlock’s Curse”. Warning: the room scenario contains scary parts. The room will transport you to the Middle Ages. The game is a story about a group of travelers who, while exploring the charming Provençal hills, stumble upon the ruins of a castle. Local legends said it once belonged to a powerful Warlock who disappeared under unknown circumstances several hundred years ago. The travelers, intrigued by the unfathomable story, decided to discover the ancient secrets. From the beginning, something was wrong; the aura surrounding this place was different from anything you had experienced before. Look at your hands… will they be able to unearth one of the greatest ancient secrets?
- Website in Polish.
Alfa Fun Escape Rooms in Łódź
- Location: Alfa Fun, Łódź, Łomżyńska 11 Street (location on Google Maps).
- Five rooms for children and adults, with different difficulty levels – the difficulty level of the room can be checked on the website.
- Example room/scenario: “Hipnoza”. In the 1950s and 1960s, the CIA conducted a top-secret research project investigating the possibilities of controlling the human brain. The research was often brutal and was carried out on unsuspecting citizens. Modern times: In Łódź, there is a series of disappearances of patients of the famous psychiatrist Dr. Piotr Szymański, who runs his office at 11 Łomżyńska Street in apartment number 6. Is the doctor hiding something?
- Languages: rooms are available only in Polish.
- Offers for birthday parties and school groups are available.
- Another attraction in Alfa Fun: Laser Games for participants aged 6+.
- Website in Polish. Facebook.
Subscribe to our monthly newsletters in English to explore Poland and learn about Poland! Once a month you will receive a Newsletter: ‘Explore Poland with Kids‘. You will find there family-friendly destinations in Poland – beautiful places in Poland worth visiting with children – from city break destinations to hiking in the mountains (lots of practical tips!); things you can’t miss in Poland in a given month; dates to remember, holidays, observances in Poland in a given month so you can mark your calendars accordingly.
