Discover Lodz: culture, parks and landscapes

The city of Łódź has more than 20 museums. The Film Museum has a collection of more than 50,000 exhibits, and the building is also home to the “Kinematograf” cinema. The Botanical Garden covers 76 hectares. Księży Młyn was recognised as a monument of industrial architecture in 1971.

The Film Museum’s collection continues to grow through acquisitions, donations, gifts and deposits. If you plan to visit the cinema, you’ll find the “Kinematograf” in the same building; check the current screening schedule in advance. With more than 20 museums, Łódź also offers a broad urban cultural setting, though this does not imply any particular offering at each individual museum.

Księży Młyn offers a different perspective. It is considered an attraction that draws tourists, artists and photographers. More broadly, Księży Młyn encompasses a historic urban fabric that developed through the 1920s and includes the estates of the Scheibler and Grohman families. Its recognition as a monument of industrial architecture in 1971 gives the area a clear historical context.

The Botanical Garden combines a large area with a diverse range of plant collections: it is home to more than 3,400 taxa of outdoor plants and around 2,000 taxa of greenhouse plants. Taxa are botanical units; the two figures distinguish between the outdoor and greenhouse collections. The garden covers 76 hectares, and area and collection figures may change gradually. During the summer season, it hosts nature workshops and lectures, flowering plant exhibitions, as well as leisure, cultural and scientific events. To find out which events are taking place during your trip, check the current programme.

Other green spaces offer different ways to get involved: Poniatowski Park has a cycling track, while visitors can pedal boats on the Stefański Ponds in 1 Maja Park. Check in advance whether pedal boats are available during your visit, as this is a seasonal activity. Łódź has more than 40 city parks in total, including 11 historic parks under conservation care. The city’s green spaces also include the Botanical Garden, the city zoo, squares and green areas, newly created pocket parks, and forests.

Across the wider Lodz destination, various historic sites represent different eras and architectural styles. Oporów Castle is a small late-Gothic fortified residence on an island surrounded by a moat. It houses a museum with an exhibition of grand interiors, as well as collections of paintings, sculptures and decorative arts. The Cistercian abbey in Sulejów-Podklasztorze is considered one of the best-preserved examples in Europe of a medieval monastic complex belonging to this order.

Further contrasts are offered by the palace in Nieborów, a branch of the National Museum in Warsaw with art collections and 18th-century interiors, and Arkadia. This romantic, sentimental-style English garden was created in the 17th century by Helena Radziwiłłowa; its listed structures include the Temple of Diana and a Roman Aqueduct. The Łowicki Ethnographic Park is the only large open-air museum in Łódź Voivodeship and recreates an entire village.

Landscape attractions range from protected hills to river settings. Łódź Heights Landscape Park protects a hilly landscape unique in central Poland, with springs, streams and remarkable wildlife; it also has a dense network of marked hiking and cycling trails. In Sulejów Landscape Park, wooded natural areas survive as remnants of the former Puszcza Pilicka.

Water activities are also available across the region: the Sulejowski and Jeziorsko reservoirs offer good conditions for sailing and windsurfing. The Rawka, Pilica, Warta, Grabia and Widawka rivers are frequently used for kayaking in Łódź Voivodeship. In Spała Landscape Park, the Pilica flows along a natural riverbed that meanders in places; islands, sandbanks and oxbow lakes provide habitats for many plant and animal species. The voivodeship also has more than 100 marked cycling routes, including nine interregional and regional routes designated by Łódź Voivodeship.

Discover more destinations: Łódź, Brójce, Koluszki, Borowa, Tuszyn, Giemzów, Rzgów, Andrespol, Pławno, Leśne Odpadki, Dobryszyce, Górka Pabianicka, Kurowice, Starowa Góra and Załęcze Wielkie.

How large is the Łódź Botanical Garden?

It covers 76 hectares and is home to more than 3,400 taxa of outdoor plants and around 2,000 taxa of greenhouse plants. The figures may change gradually.

What can you find at the Film Museum?

The collection comprises more than 50,000 exhibits and continues to grow. The building is also home to the “Kinematograf” cinema; check the current screening schedule in advance.

What activities are available in the city’s parks?

Poniatowski Park has a cycling track. Visitors can pedal boats on the Stefański Ponds in 1 Maja Park; check seasonal availability for your visit.

What activities are popular on the region’s waterways?

The Sulejowski and Jeziorsko reservoirs are well suited to sailing and windsurfing. Several rivers in Łódź Voivodeship are frequently used for kayaking.

Go to the wider destination overview: Lodz.