A late Gothic fortified castle on an island, surrounded by a moat: Oporów Castle makes a striking introduction to the region. The small castle houses a museum with an exhibition on aristocratic interiors, as well as collections of paintings, sculptures and decorative arts. Defensive architecture and elaborately furnished rooms stand side by side here.

Castles, a monastery and designed gardens

Elsewhere, too, the trail leads through very different chapters of cultural history. The Cistercian monastery in Sulejów-Podklasztorze is considered one of the best-preserved examples of a medieval monastic complex of this order in Europe. The palace in Nieborów, meanwhile, is a branch of the National Museum in Warsaw; its preserved heritage includes art collections and 18th-century interiors.

Arkadia offers a different perspective: Helena Radziwiłłowa laid out the romantic-sentimental English-style park in the 17th century. Its features include the Temple of Diana and a Roman Aqueduct. In the region, monastic architecture, palace culture and a historic garden offer distinct ways to explore.

The Łowicki Ethnographic Park is the only large open-air museum in Łódź Voivodeship and recreates an entire village. Another cultural perspective is offered by the Konopczyński family pottery workshop in Bolimów, one of the few places in the region where traditional crafts are still practised. Together, these examples show the varied ways regional history can be explored through buildings, collections, a reconstructed village and craft traditions.

Rolling hills, river meadows and forests

Alongside its cultural sites, protected landscapes shape the character of Lodz. Łódź Heights Landscape Park preserves a hilly landscape unique to central Poland, with springs, streams and remarkable wildlife. A dense network of marked hiking and cycling trails makes exploring this landscape park on foot or by bicycle an obvious focus.

Wooded natural areas are central to Sulejów Landscape Park, where they survive as remnants of the former Puszcza Pilicka forest. Spala Landscape Park offers a different kind of scenery: here, the Pilica flows through a natural riverbed that meanders in places. Islands, sandbanks and oxbow lakes provide habitats for many plant and animal species. The protected areas therefore differ not just in name, but also in the landscapes described—from hilly spring-fed terrain and woodland to a varied river floodplain.

The mission of Przedbórz Landscape Park includes making the area accessible for ecotourism.

Travel interests: trails and waterways

The Łódź Voivodeship offers a wide range of cycling options: there are more than 100 marked cycling trails, including nine interregional and regional routes designated by the voivodeship. Those more interested in waterways will find another activity on offer in the region: the Rawka, Pilica, Warta, Grabia and Widawka rivers are often used for kayaking. The Sulejowski and Jeziorsko reservoirs offer good conditions for sailing and windsurfing. These options have different focuses, and the same activity need not be available everywhere.

Termy Uniejów also have a geological connection: hyperthermal mineral water is drawn there from a depth of more than two kilometres through three boreholes. When planning your trip, you can weigh up a range of interests: marked trails for hiking and cycling, rivers for kayaking, reservoirs for sailing and windsurfing, or cultural sites featuring architecture, collections and crafts. Lodz brings these discoveries together without requiring you to focus on just one type of trip.

Discover more destinations

Discover more destinations: Wieruszowski, Bełchatowski, Piotrków, Tomaszowski, Pabianicki, Lodz, Rawski, Łęczycki, Brzeziny, Kutno, Łask, Łowicz, Opoczno, Pajęczno, Poddębice, Radomsko, Sieradz, Skierniewice, Wieluń, Zduńska, Zgierz, Piotrków County, Poniatów.

For the regional travel overview: Poland.