Picturesque Surroundings of Łódź – What's Worth Seeing

Miasto Łódź pęka w szwach od atrakcji turystycznych, o uroku których nie trzeba nikogo przekonywać. Warto wiedzieć jednak, że nieopodal aglomeracji rozciągają się przepiękne krajobrazy: Park Krajobrazowy Wzniesień Łódzkich, Łagiewniki czy Arboretum w Rogowie. Przekonaj się, gdzie warto wyskoczyć na weekend, będąc w okolicach Łodzi.

Park Krajobrazowy Wzniesień Łódzkich

Between Łódź, Brzeziny and Stryków lies a beautiful, picturesque Park Krajobrazowy Wzniesień Łódzkich. In terms of administrative boundaries, it extends across two cities (Łódź and Brzeziny) and five towns (Nowosolna, Stryków, Brzeziny, Dmosin, Zgierz). This place is perfect for family picnics, hiking and cycling trips. It undoubtedly deserves to be called a natural pearl of central Poland. It was precisely this corner that Jarosław Iwaszkiewicz chose as his favorite place on earth, spending almost all his free time at the manor in Byszewach, located within the park. The renovated manor house is not, however, the only place worth visiting during a tourist excursion. There are numerous other monuments here, charming natural beauty and dozens of kilometers of tourist trails for both hikers and those preferring cycling trips. All interspersed with rivers, lush green forests and fields.

Łagiewniki

It is thanks to Łagiewniki that Łódź can boast of monuments dating back hundreds of years. Here stands the oldest monument in the city – the St. Anthony chapel, through which miracles began to occur in the area. To this day, this place is renowned for an exceptionally fervent religious cult associated with the 18th-century church and numerous chapels scattered throughout the Łagiewniki forest. The forested areas are also one of the favorite places for Łódź residents to spend their free time. It's also worth knowing that thanks to archaeological work conducted near the present-day Franciscan monastery, coins from two thousand years ago were found. They date back to Roman times! Łagiewniki is therefore a place where centuries-old monuments, a treat for historians, natural beauty and religious mysticism meet.

Niebieskie Źródła Nature Reserve in Tomaszów Mazowiecki

The spring outflows that can be seen in the Niebieskie Źródła nature reserve are among the most valuable in Europe. They have an extraordinarily distinctive color, not found anywhere else in Poland. The water has a blue-turquoise-green color, resulting from the action of scattered sunlight. The unique charm of this place is further enhanced by geysers of sand with very high quartz content, ejected by pure water free of all chemical and physical impurities. Interestingly, this water maintains a constant temperature of 9 degrees Celsius, which never drops at any time of year. Because of this, the lake waters in the area never freeze. An additional incentive to visit the reserve is the fact that it is a haven for many very rare bird species, such as the bearded reedling and the kingfisher, which have completely lost their fear of humans and allow themselves to be fed directly from the hand. 

Park Krajobrazowy Międzyrzecza Warty i Widawki

The park was established in 1989 to protect the characteristic nature of the Warta and Widawka river valley. It extends over 25,330 hectares and attracts tourists especially with its diverse terrain. The picturesque Warta gorges are particularly worth seeing. The relative heights of the slopes reach 45 meters here, and ancient limestone formations can be observed on the surface. Standing on a hill, you can feast your eyes on a panorama of meandering rivers and oxbow lakes. Here, sand dunes, peat bogs, wetlands and areas enriched with unusual vegetation, including marsh plants, adjoin each other. While wandering through the park, you can also encounter many well-preserved monuments that testify to former urban structures. Due to this wealth of fauna, flora and cultural value, Park Krajobrazowy Międzyrzecza Warty i Widawki is considered one of the most tourist-attractive places in the Łódź area and central Poland.

Arboretum in Rogów

This is one of the most valuable and richest in terms of tree and shrub species and varieties of this type of garden in all of Europe. It is located in Brzeziny County in the municipality of Rogów on the Rawska Upland. Over an area of 54 hectares, huge quantities of plants of the same species are planted here, creating an extraordinary gene bank. Visitors to the Arboretum even have the opportunity to purchase various rare plants. More than 2,800 different species of trees and shrubs from all corners of our climate zone await tourists. Many of them are very rare and endangered species. You can even find exotic specimens here, such as trees growing only in China. The uniqueness of the specimens gathered in the Arboretum allows one to appreciate the professional commentary of the scientists-custodians of this place.