Łódź is where I was born and raised: sometimes referred to as "Polish Manchester"; a huge textile center which exploded from naught to almost a million over less than a century; expected to be boring, ugly, and depressed. Not quite true: there always was, and is, some fin-de-siècle beauty under the layer of neglect, but a label, once assigned, sticks.
Out of the blue, Łódź came #2 in the 2019 worldwide Best in Travel Value ranking by Lonely Planet, behind the Southern Nile Valley and ahead of Great Smoky Mountains;
The city does not have a real downtown area. That role is played by its main street, Piotrkowska, or rather its lower part turned promenade, with hundreds of eateries of all kinds and places to shop. The promenade is a dozen or so blocks long, and can be best explored on foot or using the city bike system. It is quite enjoyable, especially in summer.
Most of the buildings here come from the late 19th century, the city's Golden Era. They are now regaining their former glory.
Many of these pictures look better in monochrome.
