A weekend in Łódź
Piotrkowska Street, the textile and cinematography museums and the factory heritage: a direct bus from Vilnius takes 8 h 45 min.
Contents
Łódź in brief
Łódź is an industrial city that grew out of nineteenth-century cotton mills. The official tourism portal lodz.travel writes that it is not a first-choice destination in Poland, but it is special for those looking for something new (lodz.travel, checked 2026-10-07). Here stands the 4 km long Piotrkowska Street, former factories with restaurants and museums, and nearly 200 buildings whose walls are decorated with murals.
The journey is long: a direct bus from Vilnius takes about 9 hours. So Łódź suits a longer weekend better than a short “Friday to Sunday”. If you are looking for a nearer destination, look at Warsaw or Kraków.
How to get there
Times are from the FlixBus timetable for Friday, 6 November 2026, and Sunday, 8 November (FlixBus timetable, checked 2026-10-29). Times are local: in Poland the clock is one hour behind Lithuania. We did not see fares for these days, so we do not publish them: check the FlixBus search.
| From | Direct services on Friday |
|---|---|
| Vilnius | 15:55 → 23:50 (8 h 55 min; bus station) and 16:05 → 23:50 (8 h 45 min; Savanorių pr.) |
| Kaunas | 14:05 → 22:05 (9 h) |
| Klaipėda | no direct services; the 09:40 bus to Kaunas (12:30), then the 14:05 FlixBus service, in Łódź at 22:05 (national timetable data) |
Back on Sunday, 8 November 2026. A direct service leaves Łódź for Vilnius at 05:50: it arrives at 15:50 (Savanorių pr.) or 16:05 (bus station). To Kaunas a direct service leaves at 07:50 (arriving at 17:55). The other Sunday services to Vilnius have a change in Warsaw and take about 10 hours.
FlixBus adds a €0.99 fee to the order. Read about buying in the ticket guide, and about the Polish direction in Vilnius to Warsaw by bus (in Lithuanian) (both in Lithuanian).
By train. lodz.travel lists direct trains from Łódź to Warsaw, Kraków, Wrocław and Gdańsk. The biggest and newest station is the underground Łódź Fabryczna (lodz.travel, checked 2026-10-07). We did not check a Vilnius–Łódź train search. We described the route via Warsaw in the article on the train to Warsaw.
Getting around the city
The centre is compact, but Łódź is big, so you will cover some distances by city transport. MPK Łódź time tickets are valid for 20, 40 and 80 minutes or 24 hours. From 1 March 2025 the fares are 4.40 zł, 5.60 zł, 6.80 zł and 18.00 zł (MPK-Łódź fares, checked 2026-10-07). Time tickets are valid in both fare zones, and tickets of different denominations can be combined (MPK-Łódź, checked 2026-10-07).
Tickets are sold by machines in vehicles, at stops and stationary machines. At stops you can pay by card and Blik (MPK-Łódź, checked 2026-10-07). From 5 October the routes of many lines have changed, so before you travel check the journey planner. In summer a tourist tram No. 0 with historic carriages also runs (lodz.travel, checked 2026-10-07).
Districts and where to stay
lodz.travel suggests choosing between three zones (lodz.travel, checked 2026-10-07):
- Piotrkowska. The main axis of the city with hotels and apartments. It suits you if you want to reach everything on foot.
- Manufaktura. In the buildings of a former weaving mill stands the Vienna House Andel’s with a rooftop pool, and opposite the Poznański Palace the Puro Hotel. It is very near Piotrkowska.
- Atlas Arena. Choose it if you are going to a concert or an event.
We do not write accommodation prices here, because we have none from a source we can read.
The bus arrives at 23:50, so because of the late arrival contact the hostel in advance.
What to see
Piotrkowska. The main street begins with the Rose Passage, and among its courtyards it is worth looking into OFF Piotrkowska. Underfoot you will see the Walk of Fame and the “Monument to the Inhabitants of Łódź”, a stretch of the street paved with almost 17 thousand tiles bearing residents’ names (lodz.travel, checked 2026-10-07). The tourist information centre is at Piotrkowska 28/2U (lodz.travel, checked 2026-10-07).
The Central Museum of Textiles. Piotrkowska 282. On Wednesday it is open 12:00–17:00, Thursday and Friday 12:00–19:00, Saturday 11:00–18:00, Sunday 11:00–17:00; closed on Monday and Tuesday. A ticket to all exhibitions costs 55 zł, reduced 39 zł, one permanent exhibition 22 zł. On Wednesdays the permanent exhibitions are free (opening hours, tickets, checked 2026-10-07).
The Museum of Cinematography. Open Wednesday to Friday 9:00–16:00, Saturday and Sunday 11:00–18:00; closed on Monday and Tuesday. A ticket costs 28 zł, reduced 18 zł, entry is free on Wednesday, and free for children under 7 (opening hours, prices, checked 2026-10-07).
The Łódź City Museum. In the Poznański Palace it is open Tuesday to Thursday 9:00–17:00, Friday to Sunday 11:00–19:00. From 27 to 31 October 2026 the palace is closed to visitors, and also on 1 November and 24–26 December (museum, checked 2026-10-08).
Łódź City Museum (Poznański Palace)
A museum in the former palace of the manufacturer Poznański, ul. Ogrodowa 15, with permanent exhibitions on the history of Łódź.
Factory heritage. Manufaktura is a nineteenth-century factory, now with shops, restaurants, museums and a cinema. Księży Młyn is a late nineteenth-century factory quarter, part of which is still being renovated. EC1 is a former power station that houses a planetarium and a science and technology centre (lodz.travel, checked 2026-10-08). The Księży Młyn tourist centre (Księży Młyn 12) is open Wednesday to Sunday 11:00–15:00 (lodz.travel, checked 2026-10-08).
What to do by season
Autumn and winter. Choose museums, EC1 and the Fala water park, whose outdoor pool is open all year (lodz.travel, checked 2026-10-07). Christmas lights are put up in Piotrkowska, and when snow falls the portal suggests a map of sledging hills. This year the Poznański Palace is closed on 27–31 October 2026.
Spring and summer. Tram No. 0 and summer walking routes operate (lodz.travel, checked 2026-10-07). The Light Move and songwriters’ festivals take place in Piotrkowska. Check the dates before you plan.
What to eat
Łódź cuisine is a mixture of four pre-war cuisines: Jewish, Russian, German and Polish. The city’s symbol is zalewajka, a simple soup of boiled potatoes, sour rye and onions. The richer version has crackling, sour cream, black pudding, mushrooms or curd cheese. Restaurants that serve it daily are marked with special door signs (lodz.travel, checked 2026-10-07).
Most restaurants are on Piotrkowska, in Manufaktura, OFF Piotrkowska and the Piotrkowska 217 courtyard (lodz.travel, checked 2026-10-07). We did not check the prices of dishes.
Practical information
- Currency. The zloty (PLN). Read about paying in euros in the article on zlotys (in Lithuanian).
- Tips. About 10% is usual. Some restaurants include 10% in the bill, which is usually stated on the menu (lodz.travel, checked 2026-10-07).
- Accommodation charge. In Poland the opłata miejscowa is collected only in places set by municipalities (we did not read the text of the law). It is not on the pages of the Łódź tourism portal on accommodation, practical information and “what is worth knowing”. The municipality website uml.lodz.pl showed our browser a robot check window that we did not get past, so we have no official confirmation. Hostelworld states that the price of the hostel mentioned is with taxes. More in the tourist tax article.
- Documents. Poland has border checks with Lithuania until 30 March 2027, so carry a passport or ID card (documents guide (in Lithuanian), in Lithuanian).
- Help. The general emergency number is 112 (lodz.travel, checked 2026-10-07).
Weekend plan
Friday. Take the 16:05 bus from Vilnius, and you are in Łódź at 23:50. Overnight stay.
Saturday. In the morning a walk along Piotrkowska from the information centre, from 11:00 the Museum of Cinematography. In the afternoon the Central Museum of Textiles (open until 18:00), dinner at the Bulgarian restaurant Bułgarska 69, Piotrkowska 69, open on Saturday 12:00–24:00 (restaurant, checked 2026-10-26).
Sunday. The direct service leaves at 05:50, so only Saturday is left. To extend your stay, choose the 12:15 service with a change in Warsaw (in Vilnius at 23:30) and in the morning look round the Księży Młyn quarter. More ideas: a weekend in Łódź (in Lithuanian), museums for a weekend (in Lithuanian) and other trips from Vilnius (in Lithuanian) (all in Lithuanian).
FAQ
Is there a direct bus to Łódź? From Vilnius and Kaunas, yes: the FlixBus timetable for 6 November 2026 has two services from Vilnius and one from Kaunas (checked 2026-10-29). From Klaipėda there was no direct one.
How much is a city ticket? A 20-minute ticket 4.40 zł, a 24-hour ticket 18.00 zł (checked 2026-10-07).
Are the museums open on Monday? The Textile and Cinematography museums are not, and the Łódź City Museum is closed as well.
Things to see and do in Łódź
By car: distance, time, fuel
By car
- From Vilnius: 628 km, 5 h 45 min one way. Fuel there and back: €159.28 per car, €79.64 each for two people.Calculation: 2 × 628 km = 1,256 km; 1,256 km ÷ 100 × 6.5 l/100 km = 81.64 l; 81.64 l × 1.951 €/l = €159.28.
- From Kaunas: 524 km, 4 h 47 min one way. Fuel there and back: €132.90 per car, €66.45 each for two people.Calculation: 2 × 524 km = 1,048 km; 1,048 km ÷ 100 × 6.5 l/100 km = 68.12 l; 68.12 l × 1.951 €/l = €132.90.
- From Klaipėda: 735 km, 6 h 32 min one way. Fuel there and back: €186.42 per car, €93.21 each for two people.Calculation: 2 × 735 km = 1,470 km; 1,470 km ÷ 100 × 6.5 l/100 km = 95.55 l; 95.55 l × 1.951 €/l = €186.42.
From Šiauliai, Panevėžys is not calculated yet: we do not have map data for this route.
In Poland only the concession sections are tolled (A2 Świecko–Konin, A4 Katowice–Kraków); the A1 is free: what it costs (in Lithuanian).
This is an approximate calculation, not a price. Travel time without traffic or border queues. Fuel price: Lithuanian average, Euro-super 95 with taxes, 2026-10-19, the European Commission's Weekly Oil Bulletin (CC BY 4.0); consumption 6.5 l/100 km. Routes: MOTIS, car profile, no traffic conditions, © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), Geofabrik extracts, calculated 2026-10-29. There are no road tolls for passenger cars in Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia; for Poland, see here (in Lithuanian).