Łódź is Poland's second largest city. It is located in the centre of the country and serves as the capital of the Łódź Voivodeship. In Polish, the word also means "boat", which thus appears on the coat of arms.

Tourism, attractions

Tourists in Łódź gravitate to Piotrkowska Street, which stretches north to south for a little over four kilometres, making it the longest commercial street in the world. Recently renovated, it has many beautiful buildings dating back to the 19th century, in the architectural style of the Secession. Well worth visiting from late Spring to early Autumn, strolling from one pub to another on Piotrkowska Street allows one to immerse oneself in the friendly atmosphere of this unique Polish city.
Although Łódź does not have any hills nor any large body of water, one can still get close to nature in one of the city's many parks, most notably Łagiewniki (the largest city park in Europe), Zdrowie, and Poniatowski. Łódź Zoo, and Łódź Botanical Gardens also offer pleasant opportunities for leisure.
Łódź has one of the best museums of modern art in Poland, Muzeum Sztuki on Więckowskiego Street, which displays art by all important contemporary Polish artists. Despite insufficient exhibition space (many very impressive paintings and sculptures lie in storage in the basement), what is on display is well worth seeing, and there are plans to move the museum to a larger space in the near future.