4 Days in Warsaw and Lodz

Today I want to share my Poland itinerary for 4 days in Warsaw and Lodz. I’m discovering them on a trip with the Polish National Tourist Office, and I hope this advertising feature convinces you that these underrated cities are worth a visit.

I’ve been to Krakow and Zakopane on previous trips to Poland, but Warsaw and Lodz are new to me. I’m looking forward to spending 2 days in each city to take in the highlights and get a feel for what they have to offer.

Day 1: Warsaw

My 4 days in Warsaw and Lodz start as I fly from London to Warsaw on an early flight. I arrive at 11:30am looking forward to exploring a city I haven’t heard much about.

A driver picks me up from the airport and 20 minutes later I’m getting settled in at the hip H15 Boutique Hotel. My room is spacious and stylish, and I love the balcony that looks out onto beautiful historic buildings across the street.

Soon I’m off to meet my tour guide, Iza, who takes me to lunch a few doors down at Tel Aviv Urban Food. It’s one of many hip cafes and bars in the area, and a colorful meal of Middle Eastern mezze and falafel wraps goes down a treat.

Warsaw Old Town

Fueled, we head out to explore the Polish capital. Our first stop is where most trips to the city begin: the Warsaw Old Town.

Beautifully reconstructed after being destroyed in World War II, its pastel facades and cobblestone streets are packed with churches, palaces, and open-air cafes. It’s a dream.

We duck into a few churches, including the Holy Cross Church where famous 19th-century composer Frederic Chopin’s heart is buried.

We walk through squares with mermaid statues that symbolize the city and into the historic courtyard of the royal castle.

Warsaw New Town

Soon we find ourselves in the Warsaw New Town, which despite the name is actually almost as old as the Old Town. It too is full of heritage buildings.

We come across everything from the Maria Sklodowska-Curie Museum (Marie Curie Museum) to the Warsaw Uprising Monument that commemorates the Polish revolt against Nazi occupation in 1944.

Lazienki Park

From the New Town my 4 days in Warsaw and Lodz continue with a trip to a place that shows a completely different side of Warsaw.

Lazienki Park (Royal Baths Park) is a former royal hunting ground that’s full of wooded areas and water features. It has everything from a statue of Frederic Chopin to a Chinese Garden and a historic orangery.

Littered with palaces belonging to royals of old, Lazienki Park in Warsaw features a range of architectural styles. The Palace on the Isle is particularly striking with its columns over the lake.

We walk along the paths and watch the boats go by, taking in the scene and enjoying the sunshine as the afternoon comes to a close.

Dinner in Warsaw

Dinner that evening is at a restaurant called ELIXIR by Dom Wodki. I settle into a table in one of a series of intimate dining rooms, and my server brings out everything from beetroot soup to Polish dumplings.

The restaurant is known for its vodka pairings, and I try a honey-flavored one with my main course. It’s a great match.

Dessert is a fresh berry tart. It rounds out the meal and completes a great first day in Poland.

Day 2: Warsaw

The next morning my 4 days in Warsaw and Lodz continue with another full-day city tour. My guide first takes me to Muranow, the historic Jewish area of Warsaw.

The city was home to a large Jewish population before World War II. Almost all of them were tragically murdered by the Nazis.

Muranow

We start at the POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews. It has striking contemporary architecture and presents 1,000 years of Jewish life in the Polish lands.

In front of the museum, the moving Ghetto Heroes Monument honors those who died during the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising in 1943.

From POLIN we walk through the neighborhood to see some of the street art that has been popping up in recent years. The Zamenhof Mural is a particularly famous one, and it features famous figures and quotes.

Named after Ludwik Zamenhof, creator of the Esperanto language, it’s a great hidden gem in the city. From Yoda to Shrek, Charlie Chaplin to Marie Antoinette, it spans generations and genres alike.

Elsewhere in the city center, we discover more of Warsaw’s Jewish heritage. There are beautiful restored buildings on Prozna Street that were once owned by Jewish people, and there’s the Nozyk Synagogue where some of the city’s Orthodox Jews congregate today.

Palace of Culture and Science

My 4 days in Warsaw and Lodz continue with some of Warsaw’s architectural features.

We stop at the iconic Palace of Culture and Science, a huge communist-era building from the 1950s. It has a viewing platform with panoramas over the city, and it’s great to take in the skyline from it.

Powisle, Warsaw

Over in Powisle, we explore some of Warsaw’s contemporary architecture.

We start at the University of Warsaw Library roof garden, which opened in 2002. It has views over the river, and we spot everything from bridges to stadiums as we walk through the cutting-edge green space.

Down the street, we find ourselves in a former power plant called Elektrownia Powisle. It’s been converted into a cool retail and dining complex with multiple floors of shops and restaurants.

It has a futuristic feel but still maintains a lot of features of the former industrial space it once was.

A short walk away, we find ourselves on the Vistula Boulevards, Warsaw’s riverfront promenade. There’s everything from street art to bars on boats here, and we spot kayakers on the water as we stroll along.

Praga, Warsaw

Our last stop in Warsaw is a local one. We head across the Vistula River to Praga, a district with a couple of regenerated factory complexes that are worth special trips.

The first is Koneser, which features restaurants, art galleries, and the Polish Vodka Museum.

I tour the museum to learn about the history and production of Polish vodka, then enjoy a tasting of rye, potato, and wheat vodkas at the end.

It’s a fun way to learn about one of Poland’s most famous drinks, although I find some of the museum tour guide’s remarks disappointingly sexist.

Not far away, I visit the Soho Factory complex. This hip area is home to the Neon Museum, which is full of iconic signs from Warsaw’s communist period.

It’s fun to see them light up and to learn about the role neon played in the city’s culture before the Iron Curtain fell.

Dinner in Warsaw

I wrap up my second day in Warsaw with dinner at N31, a fine-dining restaurant near the Palace of Culture and Science.

A tasting menu features everything from mushroom soup with black truffles to sea bass with black lentils, and every course impresses. It’s so good that I would fly back to Warsaw just to eat here again.

Day 3: Lodz

The next morning my 4 days in Warsaw and Lodz continue with a 1.5-hour train ride from Warsaw’s central train station to Lodz’s stunning contemporary Fabryczna station.

I have no idea what to expect from this former industrial city, and I’m looking forward to exploring a place I have no preconceived notions about.

I’m picked up at the station by Tomasz, the CEO of the Lodz Tourism Organization. He whisks me off to the sleek PURO Hotel Lodz, where my room has floor-to-ceiling views of one of the city’s historic palaces. It sets a great tone for my stay.

Manufaktura Lodz

After a coffee on the hotel’s outdoor terrace (there’s a great rooftop bar here, too), I meet my tour guide, Krzysztof, who takes me across the street to Manufaktura.

This former textile factory with shops, cinemas, restaurants, and museums sits at the heart of Lodz’s renaissance.

As we walk through it, I learn that Lodz was once known for its textile industry, which flourished in the 19th century but disappeared at the end of the 20th.

Once a melting pot of Polish, Jewish, German, and Russian cultures, Lodz has spent the last two decades reinventing itself.

Today Lodz is an ever-evolving city of contrasts with an artistic heart. Manufaktura shows that in everything from its restored brick buildings to the urban beach in its courtyard.

Old Town Park

Just across the street, we visit Old Town Park, one of the city’s many green spaces. It sits on the remains of the Old Town, which was the only part of Lodz that was destroyed during World War II.

Krzysztof takes me through the park, pointing out the spot where a river runs underground and showing me historic buildings with beautiful architectural details.

As we go, he tells me that locals call this place the Herring Park due to its historic market. It sits on the former Jewish ghetto, and there’s even a statue of Moses here.

Piotrkowska Street

We stop for a quick coffee at a stylish cafe called Szykier before my 4 days in Warsaw and Lodz continue on Piotrkowska Street.

It’s the longest pedestrian street in Poland (and Europe, for that matter), and it’s lined by beautiful heritage buildings, open-air cafes, and creative street art.

It also has lots of secret passages and courtyards coming off it. First we explore the Rose Passage, in which all the buildings are covered in a giant mirror mosaic.

Then we come to The Birth of the Day, a courtyard with giant murals by Wojciech Siudmak that reflect Lodz’s anything-is-possible spirit.

Next come passages with colorful umbrellas hanging upside down over them, restaurants filling their streets, and murals covering their walls. They’re fun to discover as we make our way down Piotrkowska Street.

We stop for lunch at Spoldzielnia, a restaurant with outdoor tables in a hip courtyard complex full of cafes and bars. The mushroom flatbread starter isn’t my favorite, but the salmon main course and challah bread cake that follow it are great.

Priest’s Mill and Monopolis

After lunch, my 4 days in Warsaw and Lodz continue with visits to two more of the city’s restored factory complexes. Priest’s Mill has everything from hip flats in red brick buildings to a 19th-century English garden with a bandstand and roses.

A short walk away, the former factory buildings at Monopolis have been renovated to house cool cafes, lots of green spaces, and a lively atmosphere. I love the way the place has been restored.

Beer Tasting and Dinner

From Monopolis we head back to Piotrkowska Street for a beer tasting and dinner on one of the side streets. We start at Piwoteka Narodowa, where we sample a range of local beers with names that play on Lodz’s identity.

From there we move across the street to Anatewka, a Jewish restaurant where we eat heaping bowls of vegan cholent stew for dinner.

Day 4: Lodz

The next morning my 4 days in Warsaw and Lodz continue with a trip to another restored industrial complex. This one is called EC1, where the Center for Science and Technology is housed in a former power plant.

It’s impressive to see the restoration and I like how the plant’s historic features are integrated into the museum’s interactive exhibits. The views from the platform at the top are great, too.

From the museum we head back towards Piotrkowska Street for ice cream at Lodziarnia and coffee around the corner at Owoce i Warzywa.

Between them is a huge street art mural of Polish classical pianist Arthur Rubinstein, who was born in Lodz.

Jewish Cemetery in Lodz

The last stop on my Poland itinerary is the 19th-century Jewish Cemetery in Lodz. One of the biggest Jewish cemeteries in Europe, it covers a large area on the outskirts of the city.

While we walk through, I learn that Lodz’s Jewish population was nearly completely eradicated by the Nazis. This cemetery and a nearby Survivors’ Park dedicated to those that survived the Holocaust are moving tributes to their memory.

Rows of gravestones are overgrown with greenery and impressive mausoleums dot the grounds. It’s beautiful, and it reminds me of London’s Highgate and Nunhead cemeteries.

Lodz to Warsaw

After the visit we head back to the city center for a farewell lunch of traditional dumplings at Cud Miod before walking over to the train station for my journey back to Warsaw (there’s an airport in Lodz with direct flights to London, too).