Poland

Zyrardow, Poland – a perfect day trip from Warsaw

(Last Updated On: 07/08/2023)

My list of places to visit in Poland is probably as long as of those abroad. There’s Gdynia, Toruń, Bielsko-Biała or Wałbrzych on it. But there’re also destinations much closer that can be visited as day trips from Warsaw.

Zyrardow was one of them. The town seems to be one of the most underrated tourist destinations in Central Poland, I know maybe three people who were there yet it really is full of great places and so worth a visit. Even if it’s located only 45kms away from Warsaw, it feels and looks completely different!

Zyrardow Poland

Short history of Zyrardow, Poland

Zyrardow, Poland was founded in 1833 as a textile factory and is the only city in Europe that was set up for this purpose. The first technical director of the factory was a talented French engineer Filip de Girard who gave the name to the city. But the biggest development and the golden era of Zyrardow was in the second half of the 19th century when two German industrialists were in charge of the factory. That’s when the town was the European center of flax production, with the biggest and most modern factory in the whole continent.

Zyrardow is a perfect city that was first wisely design and then consistently built – the whole process took over 50 years but still today the result is really impressive. The town was even rewarded with the Grand Prix at the Paris 1900 World’s Fair. Until now The surroundings of the factories are full of identical red-brick houses standing in the perfect rows.

Zyrardow Poland

Zyrardow Poland

Life in Zyrardow

Zyrardow was a living factory, the whole history and everyday reality of the town was about it, the majority of the inhabitants were somehow connected to it and every aspect of life was planned and taken care of there. The last factory was closed in 1999 (few enthusiast tried to save the production and now a small jaquard line is being produced).

After years of struggling the industrial sights are being revitalized and the town, with its unique architecture and urban planning, is becoming a small gem. Former factories now serve as restaurants, galleries, shops or lofts, giving the place a new life.

Zyrardow Poland

Zyrardow Poland

Zyrardow Poland

Discovering Zyrardow on the day trip from Warsaw

The walk around the town takes 2-3 hours, a perfect time to discover all the sights without getting too tired. The first encounter with the industrial past are the quarters of solid, brick houses, surrounded by green spaces. It feels like the life goes slowly there and all the neighbors are like a big community.

When I peaked inside the yards people were enjoying a lazy Sunday afternoon outside, kids were playing around and it just looked like a perfect summer scene.

Zyrardow Poland

Zyrardow Poland

Zyrardow Poland

A little bit further there’s the main square of Zyrardow – at one side there’s a beautiful Gothic church (some sources say it was supposed to resemble the cathedral in Cologne), on the other – the most impressive factory in the whole town. The Spinning Plant now is the heart of the town and it’s as beautiful as ever. These days it serves as a shopping center and loft houses – I myself wouldn’t mind living in such an incredible place!

But it takes few steps to the back to see more edgy face of Zyrardow, where former industrial sights are still decaying, waiting for investors to turn them into gems. But for me there’s some magic in rusty, abandoned factories and I just couldn’t get enough of the place, it was incredible!

To make the place even more perfect there was a beautiful neon sign “Stella” on one of the buildings and a fading mural showing fathers of Zyrardow’s success – Karol Dittrich and Karol Hielle.

Zyrardow Poland

Zyrardow Poland

Zyrardow Poland

But the highlight of Zyrardow was yet another abandoned factory, located a little bit aside, close to residential villas. The brick walls are overgrown with plants, the windows glass is broken and the place feels kind of spooky.

So good that my friend and fellow blogger Evi has decided to join me for this trip as I’d be freaking out if I visited the place on my own, especially that we haven’t seen a single person there. But that kind of made the whole place even more awesome and exciting!

Zyrardow Poland

Zyrardow Poland

Zyrardow Poland

Zyrardow Poland

Zyrardow Poland

My impressions from visiting Zyrardow, Poland

It’s funny how we are travel the world in seek of adventure and amazing places yet they sometimes are right at our foot. And that was the story with Zyrardow.

When I excitedly told my friends about the trip there they all looked confused, questioning my choice of destination. But as it turned out no one knew how many gems are hidden in Zyrardow. Even my workmate who lives there was surprised how much I enjoyed his hometown because, according to him, there’s nothing special there.

Well, it’s great to travel the world and explore far away places but it’s even better to discover amazing spots around us! And now I definitely want to see more and more of Poland!

Zyrardow Poland

Zyrardow Poland

Zyrardow Poland

Day trip from Warsaw to Zyrardow – practical information

There’re frequent train connections between Warsaw and Zyrardow, the journey takes around 1 hour and the ticket costs 15pln (around 3,50€).

Be sure to wear comfortable shoes as you’ll walk, a lot, often on cobblestones or paths without an asphalt.

If you’d like to stay overnight in Zyrardow there are three really good places, located in the fomer factories. Click on the links below to read more about each of them and book the place to stay:

  • Loftaparts Żyrardów, with the rating of 9.4/10 on Booking
  • Resursa, with the rating of 8.9/10 on Booking
  • Aparthotel Stara Przędzalnia, with rating of 8.3/10 on Booking

  • If you think of visiting Poland or just want to read more about the country take a look what else I wrote about it:

    If you’re looking for articles about any place in particular this map with posts might be useful for you. Or just take a look at the “destinations” page.


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    32 Comments

    • Reply
      Simon Pedro Viajero
      29/06/2015 at 19:22

      jest super – taka namiastka Łodzi :)

    • Reply
      Justyna Dwojak
      29/06/2015 at 20:22

      Lubiłam tam mieszkać

    • Reply
      Life Good Morning
      30/06/2015 at 05:09

      Zachęciłaś mnie bardzo.

    • Reply
      Zuzanna Chmielewska
      30/06/2015 at 05:55

      Idealne miejsce na trenowanie umiejętności fotograficznych :) Mega urokliwe!

    • Reply
      Darek
      30/06/2015 at 06:59

      I love those red bricks! I’ve always associated this kind of architecture with former Prussian parts of Poland, had no idea you can find such beauties near Warsaw…

      • Reply
        kami
        28/07/2015 at 20:27

        I was really surprised when I visited Żyrardów for the first time too! Such a lovely city it is, and so not popular among tourists!

    • Reply
      Piotr Goroh
      30/06/2015 at 06:59

      Momentami kompletnie zapuszcozne, chodzi o to żeby było ‘autentycznie’?:)

    • Reply
      Beata Redzimska
      30/06/2015 at 07:21

      Z pozoru suche mury, ale pewnie to mury z historia

    • Reply
      Mo Tresvodka
      30/06/2015 at 13:47

      Fajnie odkrywać Polskę na nowo (z mojego końca świata) :)

    • Reply
      Iza/Obiektywnie
      30/06/2015 at 21:41

      Z Żyrardowem jestem związana od lat. Przez wiele lat mieszkali tam moi dziadkowie, mój tata spędził tam swoje dzieciństwo i młodość. Często jeździłam tam jako dziecko. Gdy po kilkunastu latach wróciłam do Żyrardowa wiosną tego roku, oniemiałam z wrażenia. Jednak bielnik, tak jak napisałaś, robi czasami straszne wrażenie. Ty nie spotkałaś nikogo, a mnie próbowało zaczepiać dwóch łebków w aucie, choć mój mąż i dzieciaki byli po drugiej stronie ulicy. To miejsce trochę jak warszawska Praga – piękna i interesująca, ale wciąż jeszcze nie do końca okiełznana.

      • Reply
        kami
        28/07/2015 at 20:31

        no własnie z Pragą mi się tak bardzo Żyrardów kojarzył! Klimat i zabudowa podobne! Szkoda, że tam średnio z bezpieczeństwem bywa, bo to miejsce ma tak wielki potencjał!!

    • Reply
      TuJarek
      01/07/2015 at 18:14

      Small but very beautiful place :)

      • Reply
        kami
        28/07/2015 at 20:34

        true!

    • Reply
      Karolina
      02/07/2015 at 05:57

      I have heard the name Żyrardów before, but if I were to actually describe what or where it is, I would be lost. I had no idea that it had such close ties with textile industry. I do love the red-brick buildings and their atmosphere.

      • Reply
        kami
        28/07/2015 at 20:35

        unfortunately it’s not the most popular place in Poland and it still has somehow bad reputation. Which is a big shame as the town is really interesting, very beautiful and so worth a visit!

    • Reply
      sekulada.com
      02/07/2015 at 06:46

      I have never heard about this place but still it looks cool. I like the old factories, it’d be such a great decoration for a movie. Or better i’d plan a second life for them ’cause there’s a big potential in it. Good to know about places like this one! :)

      • Reply
        kami
        28/07/2015 at 20:44

        fortunately the local authorities give them a second life but the whole process goes very slow due to the lack of money. But the fact that they understand their potential is already a good sign :)

    • Reply
      Tati Belenkova
      02/07/2015 at 07:59

      wybieramy się tam od ładnych kilku lat i nadal nie możemy dojechać!

    • Reply
      Biegun Wschodni
      02/07/2015 at 08:03

      Pół świata zastanawia się teraz jak to przeczytać… zshyrardoov?

    • Reply
      Marcin Wesołowski
      02/07/2015 at 21:53

      Here is the thing… there is so much places to see in Poland and we keep exploring the world without knowing the places around us! Good job! :)

      • Reply
        kami
        28/07/2015 at 20:46

        I always keep telling that Poland is just as interesting as every other country and I try to encourage people to explore it as well!

    • Reply
      Sarah
      26/07/2017 at 17:08

      Thanks for the tip, Kami! I ventured here from Warsaw today and had a really pleasant few hours wandering around. What a fascinating and lovely little city! There’s something about all of the red brick that’s almost mesmerizing. I also fell in love with Dettrich Park — I could have spent the whole day there reading. :) By the way, the map with the walking tour is also available at the tourist info centre at the Resursa building (1 Maja, No. 45) — which is an easy walk from the train station.

      • Reply
        kami
        21/08/2017 at 20:28

        I’m really glad you liked it! I think Żyrardów is the best day trip from Warsaw – nearby, with good connections and so different than Warsaw! Thanks for letting me know about the maps! :)

    • Reply
      Magda
      13/12/2017 at 09:57

      I didn’t expect that Żyrardów could be so interesting. So maybe one day i also will go with my friends, who are often visiting me. Honestly ideas for attractions had finished, so this one i like so much. Also when it will be summer, zalew Zegrzyński also will be a very good idea!

      • Reply
        kami
        22/12/2017 at 22:27

        I can definitely recommend Żyrardów – it’s such an easy and interesting day trip from Warsaw! I bet your friends would enjoy it too!

    • Reply
      Thiago
      26/03/2018 at 04:03

      The industrial look reminded me of Łódź, another favourite of mine in Poland. I will surely add this to my Poland trip in May. Dziękuję bardzo!

      • Reply
        kami
        29/03/2018 at 21:22

        Proszę :) Żyrardów is a lot like Łódź, just a smaller version of it, so I’m sure you will like it too!

    • Reply
      Sandra
      14/01/2019 at 13:52

      Hi Kami, my family comes from Żyrardów. I’ll be visiting Żyrardów and the family home, part of which is now an EU building. It’s a pity that in all your description of the city buildings , bars, etc, you said nothing of the prosperous Jewish comunity that lived there previously to WWII, and which was erased from the earth. All the ones who lived there on sept. 1st 1939 except one person, where murdered. Part of my family left before, others were murdered. It’s a pity, you know, the history of people who lived there is also important, more important than red bricks..

      • Reply
        kami
        27/01/2019 at 15:42

        Thank you for your comment Sandra. The problem with the history of Jewish community in Poland is almost non-existent in Polish sources these days and while I know there were Jews living in Żyrardów (or numerous other places) I could get no more information about them. It’s a topic for a longer discussion really. Have a good trip to Żyrardów, hope you will enjoy the place.

    • Reply
      Beth A Levy
      16/11/2020 at 06:40

      My grandparents are from Zradow. They were not affluent I heard there is an upcoming commemoration of the Jews
      of Zradow and their descendants. Sadly while my grandparents came to the US, ‘their siblings and parents were all killed.

    • Reply
      Stanley Miller
      30/08/2022 at 01:37

      I was born in Mariampol, just about 1 or 2km east of the city. Most of the family was German and grand parents had settled there around the turn of the century. From my grand parent’s homestead was only a footpath to the city. There must have been a large german population since my mother, uncles, aunts, all spoke german and attended german schools. We all had to leave around 1944.

      • Reply
        kami
        06/09/2022 at 08:01

        Interesting story, thank you for sharing!

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