After the Łódź Marathon: Łowicz, Nieborów and Arkadia

The Route: Łódź → Łowicz → Nieborów and Arkadia → Łowicz → Łódź → Łódź Airport (LCJ) Logistics: Train from Łódź to Łowicz. Nieborów is reachable only by road, so the second day needs a taxi or local bus. Two nights in Łowicz. Marathon Month: April Duration: 2 nights

Łódź ──(train)──> Łowicz (base, 2 nights) ──(road: taxi or bus)──> Nieborów Palace ──(short transfer)──> Arkadia park
  ▲                       │
  │                       └──(road back to Łowicz)
  └──(train back)────────────────────────────┘
  │
  └──(bus 65A / 65B)──> Łódź Airport (LCJ)

The DOZ Maraton Łódź finishes on a Sunday in April. The Nieborów Palace museum is closed on Mondays and open the other days from 10:00 to 16:00 until May, so the first day after the race belongs in Łowicz, and the second day takes the palace and Arkadia.

April in Łowicz and Nieborów: the month is early in the growing season, so expect bare or newly leafed trees in the park. Corpus Christi, when Łowicz fills with craft stalls and folk bands, falls later in the year, so do not plan around it.

Trains run from Łódź to Łowicz; check journey time and fares on the ŁKA and PKP timetables. Nieborów, by contrast, is reachable only by road. Arrange a taxi from Łowicz for the day, and ask the driver to wait or return for a fixed time.

Nights One and Two: Łowicz

Łowicz is the base. The old centre has a triangular market square, the Brama Prymasowska gate and the Cathedral of the Assumption, whose construction began in the 15th century. A museum devoted to Łowicz paper cut-outs (wycinanki) also runs workshops. The craft forms are cut-outs known as kodra and gwiozdy, often with floral motifs and roosters, plus hanging decorations called spiders, made only to special order. A second folk museum, run by the Brzozowski family in Sromów, shows cut-outs, spiders and moving sculptures of regional life. Opening hours and entry prices are not published in the sources used here, so check each museum's website.

Hotels and restaurants are not named here because none could be confirmed with current details. Look for a room within a short walk of the market square, so that the rest of the day needs no transport, and check breakfast times and lift access when booking.

Day Two: Nieborów and Arkadia

The Museum in Nieborów and Arkadia is a branch of the National Museum in Warsaw. The palace was built between 1690 and 1696 by the Dutch architect Tylman van Gameren. Helena and Michał Radziwiłł gave it its classical late-18th-century look, and the family kept it until 1945. Visitors see Polish, English and French furniture, family portraits, Persian carpets, silver, porcelain and Nieborów majolica. The library has glass-fronted English bookshelves and two 17th-century globes that once stood at Versailles. Baroque gardens surround the building.

Arkadia is the romantic park, created from Helena Radziwiłł's idea. The museum won a European award in 1994 for its restoration. Its structures imitate ancient ruins and English Gothic, among them the Temple of Diana, the Stone Arch, the Cave of the Sibyl and the Tomb of Illusions. Surfaces on park paths vary, so keep the circuit to what the legs allow.

The museum is open Tuesday to Sunday, 10:00 to 16:00 outside the May to September season, which runs until 17:30. The park is open from 10:00 until dusk. Ticket prices are not published in the sources used, so check nieborow.art.pl or call the museum on +48 46 838 56 35.

Getting home

Return to Łódź by train. From Łódź, Łódź Airport (LCJ) is reached by bus 65A or 65B from the terminal connection to the city. Many runners will fly from Warsaw Chopin Airport (WAW) instead, using a direct Intercity train from Łódź Fabryczna to Warszawa Centralna. Book the taxi back from Nieborów before leaving the palace, since pick-ups in a small village are not guaranteed.