Everybody loves Łódź, right? Judging by first appearances, the city may not look like an obvious tourist destination for anyone, let alone kids. But you're here now, and you can only expect the younglings to be quiet and respectful in churches, memorial sites and boring history museums for so long, and you can’t expect them to enjoy cellar bars or stylish clubs at all. There must be something else to do in this town, right? Yup! What we've learned during our time exploring the city is that not only is it a quite an impressive place for anyone wishing to explore, it also has quite a lot of stuff for kids to see and enjoy, come rain or shine, you'll always keep them occupied!
We’ve created this section to help you find exactly those things, and send your kids back to school bragging about what a great visit they had in Łódź. Below we’ve listed local family-friendly destinations under the categories of Indoors and Outdoors, plus reliable recommendations for where to eat and drink where your kids will be treated as welcome customers, rather than ire-inducing annoyances. Some venues are described in more detail elsewhere, so follow the links.
Helpful Hints
Of course the first step to having a great family vacation abroad is to accept that what you want to do, and what your kids want to do are hardly one and the same. That said, there’s no reason you can’t find some common ground in Łódź’s major attractions. Everyone has Manufaktura on their visit list, and thankfully when it was developed, they had everyone's interests in mind! If you choose to go the more adult-orientated Museum of the Factory, you'll be happy to know there's a nursery - Jupi Park - for really young kids, but otherwise, you'll be glad to know the complex has a few other kid-friendly venues up its sleeve! There is the Experymentarium with fun-filled science-based games and experiments for the kids to enjoy and if leisure is more your thing, then Cinema City with its IMAX screens (alternatively, there's Mulitkino Łódź in the city centre) to see the latest kids' movies can be good for a rainy day. They also have Arena Laser Games and a climbing centre which is fun for all involved!
Sometimes the best thing to do when there’s easy-tiring kids involved and you want to see as much as possible is to simply walk, or take a charming rickshaw ride, along ul. Piotrkowska. Along the way you will see many funky monuments the kids will love, like Fairytale Łódź cartoon characters, the Lamp Man, the Hollyłódź Walk of Fame, and at the beginning of the street, some fantastic street art in the form of Róża's Passage, and at Plac Wolności (in the warmer months) go on an underground adventure to the Dętka Canal Museum.
As for museums, the perfect choice is to go to the EC1 complex next to the main Łódź Fabryczna train station. Not only will adults enjoy it, but the kids will simply love it - from the super modern planetarium to the newly opened Centre for Science & Technology, there's plenty of fun to be had!
Other outdoor leisure activities could include a simple walk through Sienkiewicz Park (also the location of the Museum of Natural History) or a visit to the zoo. And if the weather's not too great, taken them to the fun filled Aquapark, ice-skating rink or even 10-pin bowling!
