Winter attractions in Łódź and the region

When thinking of Polish cities that become more attractive in winter, Zakopane, Szczyrk or Wisła usually come to mind first - mountains, snow, skiing. Łódź is associated with winter less often, but here too, and nearby, there are plenty of ways to spend the winter months.

Winter entertainment in Łódź

Let's start with the question that comes up most often: can you actually ski or sledge in Łódź?

• In the southern part of the city, on ul. Starorudzka, you'll find Rudzka Góra with a toboggan run and a ski jump. The jump was built in the 1960s, fell into ruin, and was rebuilt by ski jumping enthusiasts in 2009 - it even hosted the Central Poland Ski Jumping Championship. The toboggan run is 580 metres long and operates year-round, except on days with precipitation or icing (tickets are sold at the nearby Bacówka u Józka restaurant).
• In late November, Piotrkowska Street and Wolności Square take on a festive mood - that's when the annual Christmas market begins, usually running until early January. The programme tends to include shows for children, concerts, ornament-making workshops and stalls selling festive goods; exact dates and locations are worth checking before a visit, as they change from year to year.
• Cold-water swimming fans have two options in Łódź. Once a winter, Orientarium Zoo Łódź organises ice swimming in the elephant pool - a one-off event announced in advance on the zoo's website and social media. Every Sunday at noon (until the end of March), the "Morsy w Łodzi" group swims in the pond at Arturówek, in the northern part of the city.
• Winter also means ice skating. The rink at Manufaktura usually opens in late November and runs until mid-February, open daily, with an ice surface of over 600 m². Skates and "penguin" aids for first steps on the ice can be hired.

What to do in Łódź in winter

Besides typical winter entertainment, Łódź offers plenty of places where the weather makes little difference.

• EC1 Science and Technology Centre is a complex where you can spend time at any time of year. Planetarium EC1 regularly runs shows about stars and planets. Ulica Żywiołów is a space for children built around characters linked to water, fire and earth. The National Centre of Film Culture hosts meetings, exhibitions and screenings for film lovers, and the Centre for Comics and Interactive Narrative combines a Retro Zone devoted to the history of gaming in Poland, the Game Lab educational trail, and a virtual reality zone with an escape room. The current EC1 events programme is available at ec1lodz.pl/eventy.
• Orientarium Zoo Łódź is open all year round. The complex has four zones: the Sunda Islands (crocodiles, orangutans, sun bears among others), the Celebes zone (macaques, otters, porcupines), the elephant zone with the largest Indian elephant in Europe, and the Oceanarium with several hundred fish species, including sharks and rays.

Winter attractions in the region

Anyone after an actual ski or snowboard run should head outside Łódź:

• Góra Kamieńsk (about 65 km from Łódź, towards Bełchatów) - the highest elevation in central Poland (385 m above sea level), formed on the spoil heap of the Bełchatów lignite mine. The resort has a snow-making, floodlit 760 m run, a chairlift, and both platter and conveyor lifts. Current pass prices are available at gorakamiensk.pl - worth checking before you go.

The attractions described above are only part of what happens in Łódź and the region in winter - it's worth checking each venue's own website for current events, as the dates of markets, ice rinks and ice-swimming events change from season to season.