12 Things to Do in Lodz: Piotrkowska, Manufaktura and Factory Gems

Lodz is best explored on foot, with your head tilted back. Between the tenement houses of this former factory city stand old spinning mills turned into museums, restaurants and cultural centres, and the walls of many buildings are covered in huge murals. That’s why so many things to do in Lodz work well for a trip with friends – most are close to the centre, and every place has its own factory story.

We’ve picked 12 places to start with, from Piotrkowska Street and Manufaktura to some less obvious industrial gems. At the end you’ll find a sample day plan and answers to the questions we hear most often.

12 things to do in Lodz

1. Piotrkowska Street

The city’s main street runs in a straight line for about 4.2 km, from plac Wolności (Liberty Square) and its Kościuszko Monument to plac Niepodległości (Independence Square). The most pleasant stretch for a stroll is the pedestrianised northern section, where you’ll pass Julian Tuwim’s bench, Artur Rubinstein’s piano and Władysław Reymont’s trunk. Beneath plac Wolności lies the Muzeum Kanału Dętka (Dętka Canal Museum) – a historic underground rainwater reservoir and an unusual stop for engineering fans.

2. Manufaktura

Izrael Poznański’s former industrial empire combines historic red-brick halls with a modern shopping centre, restaurants and a large market square. Look closely at the walls – the bricks bear the initials “IP” from the industrialist’s private brickworks. One of the buildings houses the Muzeum Fabryki (Factory Museum), which tells the story of textile production and the daily lives of the workers, and in summer the square fills with beer gardens and open-air concerts.

3. Poznański Palace – the Museum of the City of Lodz

Right next to Manufaktura, at Ogrodowa 15, stands the Poznański family residence. The tour begins with the grand staircase that many people know from the film The Promised Land (Ziemia obiecana), and upstairs there are eclectic state rooms with Art Nouveau touches. On the ground floor you’ll see a model of pre-war central Lodz, and downstairs there are exhibitions on the city’s multicultural history.

4. Muzeum Sztuki – ms1 and ms2

The city’s Muzeum Sztuki (Museum of Art) is one of the oldest museums of modern art in the world, and its collection grew out of the holdings of the avant-garde a.r. group. The ms1 branch is in one of the Poznański palaces at Więckowskiego 36, while the permanent collection of 20th- and 21st-century art is at ms2, in a former weaving mill at Manufaktura. The museum is also famous for the Neoplastic Room designed by Władysław Strzemiński.

5. EC1 – Science and Technology Centre

The first municipal power station in Lodz, launched in 1907, stands right next to Lodz Fabryczna station. Its Science and Technology Centre has three trails: on energy transformation, on the development of knowledge and civilisation, and on the micro- and macro-world. The complex also houses a planetarium and the Narodowe Centrum Kultury Filmowej (National Film Culture Centre), with an exhibition on the history of Polish cinema.

6. Księży Młyn

Karol Scheibler, known as the cotton king, built an entire factory town here: a spinning mill, workers’ houses, a school, a hospital, a factory shop and a fire station. The spinning mill alone is more than 200 metres long and is the largest building of its kind in Lodz. A walk between the brick workers’ houses is one of the most atmospheric routes in the city, and the former Herbst family residence houses a branch of the Muzeum Sztuki – the Herbst Palace.

7. Muzeum Kinematografii

Lodz is a film city, and Poland’s only museum of cinematography is housed in Karol Scheibler’s palace at plac Zwycięstwa 1, near Księży Młyn. Alongside collections on the development of Polish cinema, you’ll see the industrialist’s own living quarters, which show how the city’s industrial elite once lived.

8. Biała Fabryka – Central Museum of Textiles

Ludwik Geyer’s classicist buildings on the southern stretch of Piotrkowska Street house a museum devoted to the thing Lodz grew out of: textiles. You’ll see a 19th-century weaving room with working machines, a fashion exhibition and a collection of Polish art textiles. Next to the museum is the Skansen Łódzkiej Architektury Drewnianej (Open-Air Museum of Lodz Wooden Architecture).

9. Murals on tenement walls

Murals decorate the walls of more than 170 buildings in Lodz, which is why the city is sometimes called the largest urban gallery in Poland. Many works were created during the Urban Forms Gallery festival, which invited artists from all over the world. You’ll see some without any special planning – for example at Piotrkowska 152, where the Lodz group Design Futura painted one of the city’s first contemporary murals.

10. Orientarium at Lodz Zoo

The zoo’s year-round pavilion on Konstantynowska Street is a trip to South-East Asia without getting on a plane. You can watch Indian elephants even through an underwater window, and in the underwater tunnel sharks and rays glide over your head. A good plan for a rainy day and for a group with children.

11. Palm House in Źródliska Park

The three pavilions of the Palmiarnia (Palm House) on Piłsudskiego Avenue are home to thousands of plants, including palms around 150 years old. Bananas ripen overhead, and there are carnivorous plants too. The Palm House is a few hundred metres from the Muzeum Kinematografii and close to Księży Młyn, so it’s easy to combine them in one walk.

12. Lodz from a party tram

To finish, an attraction we run ourselves: a private tram turned into a club on wheels. For two hours you ride through the streets of Lodz – for example near Manufaktura, along Kościuszki Avenue, which runs parallel to Piotrkowska, and past EC1 – with music, club lighting and only your group on board. The tram works for stag dos, hen parties, birthdays and corporate events, and you’ll find the details on our TramParty Lodz page.

A sample day in Lodz

• 10:00 – Manufaktura and the Muzeum Fabryki,
• 12:00 – the Poznański Palace, home to the Museum of the City of Lodz,
• 14:00 – lunch and a walk south along Piotrkowska from plac Wolności,
• 16:00 – EC1, or Księży Młyn and the Muzeum Kinematografii,
• 19:00 – dinner at OFF Piotrkowska, in the former Ramisch spinning mill,
• 21:00 – two hours on a private tram,
• 23:00 – an after-party around Piotrkowska.

If you have two days, save the second morning for the Orientarium or Biała Fabryka and a walk along the mural trail. You’ll also find ideas for an evening with a bigger group in our article on birthday parties in Lodz.

Frequently asked questions

What can you see in Lodz in one day?

For a single day, combine Manufaktura and the Poznański Palace with Piotrkowska Street, then add EC1 or Księży Młyn in the afternoon. Most of these places are close to the centre, so you can get around on foot or by tram and see a few murals on the way.

Where can you go in Lodz when it rains?

Go for indoor attractions: the EC1 Science and Technology Centre, the Muzeum Fabryki, ms2, the Muzeum Kinematografii or the year-round Orientarium with its tropical section. Check opening hours before you visit.

How long does a tram party last and where does it start?

A standard ride lasts 2 hours, and the tram is yours alone for that time. It can start from almost any tram stop in Lodz, and we usually agree the final stop in the centre, near Piotrkowska Street. Prices and details are agreed individually – describe your plans in the form on our TramParty Lodz page.