To get your bearings, start out at one end of Piotrkowska (it doesn't matter which) and walk from end to end. This is where it all happens in Lódz. Feel free to meander down the various side streets. You'll find houses and buildings in all states of repair and disrepair. It's an urban-rehabbers dream, and someday this all might be trendy shops and boutiques. In addition to the numerous pubs, restaurants, and coffee bars, Piotrkowska is lined up and down with turn-of-the-last-century neo-this, neo-that architectural gems. The house at no. 78 marks the birthplace of renowned pianist Artur Rubinstein, the city's most famous local son.
The former textile mills, now the Manufaktura shopping mall, as well as the History of Lódz museum and the former Jewish ghetto, all lie to the north of the city center, beyond the terminus of Piotrkowska at the Plac Wolnosci, easily identified by the statue of Polish national hero Tadeusz Kosciuszko at the center.
