Cinemas
Open
Poland's only film-themed hotel, in an 1891 building where the country's first permanent cinema opened in 1899
Murals
a pastel scene called 'Love Letter' by Spanish artist ARYZ, one of the first Urban Forms murals
Museums
Open
the City of Łódź Museum's multi-faith heritage branch on Plac Wolności, free admission every Sunday
Theatres & Opera
Open
a small stage since 2013 at Arterion Film Studios, focused on contemporary drama in an intimate setting
Cemeteries & Monuments
Open
a bronze statue of Artur Rubinstein at a piano, outside the tenement of his childhood
Murals
Poland's first 3D mural, its full effect visible only through ChromaDepth glasses
Cemeteries & Monuments
Open
a bronze Julian Tuwim on a bench with an empty seat beside him, from 1999
Museums
the archdiocese's sacred art collection, also shown in Warsaw and Kraków, visits require prior booking
Cinemas
the second intimate ŁDK screening hall, running since 2014 as a successor to the old Kino Kameralne
Murals
DALeast's second Łódź mural at the corner of Pomorska and Wierzbowa, a wave of hundreds of lines topped by a bird
Historic Sites
Open
a transport hub combining an 1868 station facade with a glass roof added in 2016
Murals
an Etam Cru mural on Nawrot street, a leaning traphouse, a recurring motif of their surreal work
Museums
Closed
the university's mineral and fossil collection, including a meteorite among eight thousand specimens, open to all
For Children
Open
a bowling alley and billiards in the Silver Screen complex, nine pool tables alongside the bowling lanes
Murals
Open
the mural Kwiaty polskie on the Dom Literatury, Gregor's tribute to Tuwim with a surreal cross-section of his head
For Children
trampolines and a ball pit inside Silver Screen, drop your kid off and catch a movie next door
Cemeteries & Monuments
Open
a metre-tall bronze bear with a folded ear, since 2009, with a QR code linking to the cartoon
Museums
Open
historic trams and buses plus a model of the first Herbrand tram, over a century of city transport history
Cemeteries & Monuments
Open
a sculpture of Poznański, Scheibler and Grohman at a table, with a free seat for passersby
Historic Sites
Open
a grand tenement on Piotrkowska 258/260, home since 1996 to the European Institute, with stained-glass doors
Parks & Nature
Open
an intimate Polesie park laid out in 1904 from the Richter family's factory-owner gardens
Entertainment
a basement club-café on Piotrkowska with a bar, concert hall and a bistro serving breakfast
Historic Sites
an 1896 eclectic tenement, its cellar houses the Przechowalnia art club
Murals
Open
an M-CITY mural on Legionów street, a fantastical house of pipes and chimneys in his signature stencil style
Over 270 places in the strict center, more than in the other four districts combined. Over a hundred historic sites, forty-five murals, over twenty museums and galleries, and a dozen or so theater stages. This district is explored on foot, and that is how this list is arranged too.
Over eighty entries on the list are tenement houses, mostly on Piotrkowska Street, and each has an owner's name in the catalog: the Scheibler Family Tenement House at number 11, the Ferdynand Ende Tenement House at number 108, the Salomon Baharier Tenement House at number 107, the A. Starke Tenement House at number 102. At number 100a stands the former Department Store of Hugo Schmechel and Julian Rosner. Walking down the street with this list in your phone, you see not just facades, but who built them and when.
Beyond the street itself, it is worth stepping through the gateways. Pasaż Róży, lined with pieces of mirror, Piotrkowska 217 with a playground, and Łódź Kaliska at number 102, are courtyards that have a life of their own.
Alongside the major institutions, Śródmieście has a full set of specialist museums, most of them free or costing a few złoty. At Plac Wolności 2 you will find the Prof. Jan Muszyński Museum of Pharmacy and the Department of Religious Cultures and Traditions of the City of Łódź Museum, and at number 14 the Archaeological and Ethnographic Museum. The university runs the Museum of Natural History at Kilińskiego 101 and the Geological Museum at Kopcińskiego 31. Add to that the Museum of Public Transport at Wierzbowa 51, the Museum of the Łódź Archdiocese at ks. Skorupki 3, and the Museum of Education of the Łódź Region at Wólczańska 202.
The galleries include the Center for Art Propaganda at Sienkiewicza 44, Galeria Wschodnia at Wschodnia 29, and Galeria Rynek Sztuki at Wschodnia 69.
From the major institutions - the Grand Theatre on Plac Dąbrowskiego, the S. Jaracz Theatre at Jaracza 27, and the Kazimierz Dejmek New Theatre at Zachodnia 93 - to smaller stages: Teatr Piccolo (Tuwima 34), the Arlekin Puppet Theatre (al. 1 Maja 2), Teatr DOM (Piotrkowska 243), Scena Arterion (Pomorska 69/71), and the Chorea Theatre Association at Tymienieckiego 3. Programs are also run by the Łódź Cultural Centre (Traugutta 18), the House of Literature (Roosevelta 17), and the Academic Centre for Artistic Initiatives at Zachodnia 54/56. The repertoire for the coming days is in the calendar of performances.
Forty-five murals, the most in the city. They were created mainly during the Urban Forms festival, on the gable walls of tenement houses along Piotrkowska Street and on side streets. All of them are free and accessible at any hour, and you can find the full list with addresses in the mural catalog. A walk past them is a natural addition to a route along Piotrkowska.
Eight places tagged "for children": a bowling alley and Jupi Park at Jazda!Park Silver on Piłsudskiego 5, the play areas Figloraj (Wierzbowa 18) and Piotruś Pan (Pomorska 58), YMCA Łódź at Moniuszki 4a, and the playground at Piotrkowska 217.
Śródmieście / Centrum (over 220 places), Osiedle-Katedralna (30), Śródmieście-Wschód (24), and Piotrkowska. You can select a neighborhood in the panel alongside to narrow the list down to one quarter.
The simplest route runs along Piotrkowska from Plac Niepodległości north to Plac Wolności, then along Zachodnia and Ogrodowa to Manufaktura in Bałuty. The whole loop is about five kilometers and half a day with breaks. It is worth timing museum visits to opening hours, since some close at four in the afternoon, and Monday can be a closed day.
What to see in the center of Łódź in one day? Piotrkowska Street with its courtyards, one museum along the route, and Manufaktura at the end. This is a walking route with no transfers.
How many places have listed opening hours? Roughly half. The rest are tenement houses, murals, monuments and squares that you view from the street at any time.
Can you explore the center for free? Yes, seventy sites are tagged "free": murals, courtyards, squares, monuments and some galleries. Several museums have one free day a week.
Where to eat in the center? The greatest concentration of venues is on Piotrkowska Street and in its courtyards; you will find a list with addresses and hours in the restaurants section.
Where to park? A paid parking zone applies in the center. It is easiest to leave the car in the parking lot at Manufaktura or at Łódź Fabryczna station and continue on foot.
You will find the other districts on the attractions in Łódź page, all the places at once on the map, and what is happening in the city in the coming days in the events calendar.
