Łódź named one of world’s top travel destinations by National Geographic
The city of Łódź has been chosen as one of the Top 25 global destinations to visit in 2022 by a prestigious annual international ranking published by National Geographic Traveler magazine.
The post-industrial city located in central Poland and historically associated with the textile trade was the only Polish city on the list and was selected among five cities in the ‘Sustainability’ category, with the other categories being Nature, Adventure, Culture and History.
The submission of Łódź was made by the magazine’s Polish editorial team who visited the city in July 2020 after an invitation from the city’s tourist board.
Agnieszka Franus, editor in chief of National Geographic Poland and National Geographic Traveler said: “The presence of Łódź on the ‘Best of the World 2022’ list is a huge distinction and great promotion for one of Poland’s most interesting cities.
“I am impressed by how it has been changing recently, how it cares about its post-industrial identity, revitalizes former factories and transforms them into centres of life and meeting places for residents, and at the same time is becoming a leader of sustainable development.
Tomasz Koralewski, director of the Łódź Tourist Organisation said: “Finding ourselves on the list of the Best of the World 2022 confirms the fact that Łódź is a unique place on a global scale and we are immensely proud that this has been noticed and appreciated.”
“Once one of our most industrial cities, today has the ambition to become the greenest. Come to Łódź- you won’t be disenchanted!”
Each year, places around the world are put forward by National Geographic Traveler’s local editorial teams for inclusion in the ‘Best in the World’ list, with the central editorial team headquartered in the USA making the final decision on which 25 places are most worthy of a travel recommendation for the following year.
Agnieszka Franus, editor in chief of National Geographic Poland and National Geographic Traveler said she was impressed by how the city has changed and “how it cares about its post-industrial identity, revitalizes former factories and transforms them into centres of life and meeting places for residents, and at the same time is becoming a leader of sustainable development.”
The submission of Łódź was made by the magazine’s Polish editorial team who visited the city in July 2020 after an invitation from the city’s tourist board.
The immediate effect of that trip was an article by Michał Cessanis in October 2020 entitled ‘Fabryka zmian’ (Factory of Changes).
The magazine said that Łódź was as one of the Top 25 global destinations to visit in 2022.
Marta Szczepanik from National Geographic Traveler said: “Over 30 percent of the area of Łódź is green space, including the Łagiewnicki forest, which is one of the largest city forests in Europe.
“Special notice should also be paid to the role of revitalization, which is transforming old factory complexes into post-industrial parks, cultural centres and thriving artistic and gastronomic communities.”
One of the stand out points was the fact that over 30% of the city has green spaces.
Tomasz Koralewski, director of the Łódź Tourist Organisation said: “We are incredibly happy about the cooperation with the editorial team of National geographic Traveler and Michał Cessanis, who, not hiding his love of our city, became its ambassador.
“It is an enormous distinction for us in the context of tourism, which is still rebuilding itself after the pandemic.
“The inclusion of Łódź by this prestigious magazine underlines how unique our city is and how much it has to offer tourists.
The magazine’s Marta Szczepanik added: “Special notice should also be paid to the role of revitalization, which is transforming old factory complexes into post-industrial parks, cultural centres and thriving artistic and gastronomic communities.”
“Finding ourselves on the list of the Best of the World 2022 confirms the fact that Łódź is a unique place on a global scale and we are immensely proud that this has been noticed and appreciated.”
The other places joining Łódź in the Best of the World 2022 list in the Sustainability category are the Ruhr Valley in Germany, the Parque Nacional Yasuni in Ecuador, the National Columbia Gorge Scenic Area, in Oregon/Washington and the Chimanimani National Park in Mozambique.
It is the second time a place in Poland has been included on the prestigious list, the previous occasion being in 2019, when the Białowieża Forest was selected.
