10 verified ideas for spending free time in Łódź

Łódź offers many ways to spend free time, from calm to seriously adrenaline-fuelled. Below are ten ideas along with specific places where you can try them out.

1. Balloon flight

Balloon flights over Łódź and the surrounding area are organised by balloon companies operating in the region, including Wyprawa Balonem (Balloon Expedition; the meeting point is usually Jeziorsko, from where participants are driven to the launch site) and ProBallooning. Flights usually take off at sunrise or sunset and last around an hour, and after landing participants receive a commemorative aeronaut's certificate. Dates depend heavily on the weather, so it's worth confirming your booking close to the date.

2. Chocolate tasting at the Wedel chocolate house

The Wedel Chocolate House on ul. Piotrkowska 69 (there is also a second location in Manufaktura) is a place with a long tradition, for anyone who wants to discover different flavours of hot chocolate. The menu includes several types of liquid chocolate and desserts.

3. Visit to an escape room

This is a good idea for anyone who enjoys logic puzzles and having fun in a group. In Łódź, Tkalnia Zagadek is worth a visit, one of the first escape rooms in Poland, with two locations on ul. Piotrkowska and more than a dozen scenarios of varying difficulty.

4. Dinner in the dark

A dinner in complete darkness, where you recognise the dish and your surroundings only by touch, smell and taste, is organised in Łódź by the restaurant Farina Bianco. Staff move around wearing night-vision goggles, and the menu (meat, fish or vegetarian) remains a surprise until the end of the meal.

5. Drive a Lamborghini or Ferrari through the streets of Łódź

A ride in a luxury sports car can be booked at one of Łódź's sports car rental companies, for example Cylindersi, which offers Ferrari rental with delivery to a chosen address in Łódź. You can also do the drive with a driver, without needing a licence of your own for this class of car.

6. Laser maze

Arena Laser Games in Manufaktura is around 250 square metres of maze filled with tyres, wooden crates and artificial fog, through which you move with a laser gun and a wirelessly controlled vest. The game works well solo or as a team, split into up to five teams.

7. Go-karts

In Łódź you can go go-karting at, among other places, Gokart Arena on ul. Smugowa or the M1 karting track on ul. Brzezińska. A solo drive or a race with friends is a quick way to raise your adrenaline.

8. Bowling

Bowling works as entertainment for anyone, regardless of age or fitness level. In Łódź, it's worth heading to Kręgielnia Grakula in Manufaktura, which has nearly thirty lanes, or to Kręgielnia Król Kul in the Nowa Sukcesja centre.

9. Jumping fitness and bungee

Several clubs in Łódź run jumping fitness classes on trampolines, including Fit and Jump (several locations across the city). A separate offer is Bungee Gym at Lejdis Studio on ul. Jaracza 40, a training session on ropes that take the load off your joints, giving a partial sensation of flying while engaging your deep muscles.

10. SALTOS trampoline park

Both children and adults can jump on trampolines. Łódź has two SALTOS parks: one on ul. Srebrzyńska and one on ul. Wydawnicza. Besides regular jumping, there are also acrobatics zones and team trampoline games.

For those seeking stronger thrills: extreme attractions from the region

If these ideas aren't enough adrenaline, it's worth extending your search to the Łódź region. In Piotrków Trybunalski, about 50 km from Łódź, several centres offer tandem skydiving, including Sky Force and Strefa Skoków. Jumps are made from over 4000 metres, and the season usually runs from April to the end of October, mainly on weekends. In Łęki Kościelne, also about 50 km from Łódź, the Falco paragliding school has been operating since 1999, offering tandem flights with an instructor as well as courses for people who want to fly solo.