Lodz sits dead center in Poland, Warsaw 1h15 away, Krakow 3h30, an average-looking city that is a genuinely useful travel base. Poland's third city, home to TUL's International Faculty of Engineering, all courses in English for 250 to 400 Erasmus students a year. Identity: street art, murals, old factories turned cultural hubs. Not the prettiest city, but cost and Erasmus scene make up for it.

• Poland's third largest city, dead center between Warsaw (1h15) and Krakow (3h30), a genuinely useful base for weekend trips.
• TUL's International Faculty of Engineering (IFE) runs every course in English and takes in 250 to 400 exchange students a year.
• Expect street art and reclaimed factories (Manufaktura, EC1, OFF Piotrkowska) rather than a postcard old town, and embrace it.

Lodz's Erasmus life runs on weekly rituals: Prywatka club Wednesdays, El Cubano Fridays, karaoke at Cotton Club Sundays, flunkyball behind Dorm 3. ESN-EYE, the local BDE, runs an almost daily programme, mostly free, plus weekend trips around 80 euros all in (Gdansk, Krakow, Torun, Auschwitz, Energylandia) and a standout Lapland trip. A third of exchangers are French, make the effort to mix.

• Join the Studcasa Lodz group before arriving, it is the fastest way to find flatmates, sell furniture and hear about the next ESN trip.
• Stick to the weekly rituals: Prywatka (Wed), El Cubano (Fri), Cotton Club karaoke (Sun), and beers at Indeks across from TUL on Sundays.
• Do not stay in the French bubble, only a third of Erasmus students are French among roughly thirty nationalities.

Lodz is the cheapest stop in the Polish corpus: a dorm room plus three weeks of groceries can come in under 150 euros. Tram ride about 0.50 euros, bar beer 5 to 10 PLN, restaurant meal 20 to 40 PLN, club entry around 20 PLN. Student trains are almost free: Lodz to Krakow 3h30 for 9 euros. Recent reports put living costs 10 to 15 percent below France, well down from the old 2 to 3 times cheaper.

• Budget around 100 to 150 euros a month for groceries and everyday spending on top of rent.
• Tram or bus ride: about 0.50 euros (2.20 PLN) with the student discount, via Jakdojade.
• Student rail discount (51 percent): Lodz to Krakow 3h30 for 9 euros, Lodz to Warsaw round trip 10 to 16 euros.

Two real options. University dorms (9 residences, under 20 minutes from class): 500 PLN double, 550 to 600 single, roughly 100 to 140 euros, paid monthly with no semester commitment, though you cannot choose building, room or roommate. Basecamp is where most exchange students end up: pick Basecamp II on Rembielinskiego, 10 minutes from TUL, for private-bathroom studios from 390 to 625 euros.

• Start in a dorm, it is cheap and monthly, then move to Basecamp mid semester once you have tested the fit, a move many students make.
• Basecamp II Rembielinskiego is the real rally point for pre-drinks and where most of the Studcasa Lodz group ends up living.
• Shared kitchens in the dorms serve up to 40 people per floor, the most common complaint, so bring your own pans and expect some queueing.

Walkable from most dorms, campus, Piotrkowska and Manufaktura close by. Trams and buses run on Jakdojade, about 0.50 euros a ride with the student discount. TUL lends bikes free for the semester against a 200 PLN deposit. From France, fly Paris to Warsaw, then a 1h30 to 2h train to Lodz, or a direct FlixBus, 21 hours and 75 euros. Buy tickets at the kiosks, staff rarely speak English.

• Get the free university bike for the semester (200 PLN deposit) rather than buying one, the city is flat and easy to cycle.
• Book the Paris to Warsaw Chopin flight, then the 1h30 to 2h train to Lodz Fabryczna, it is faster and cheaper than a direct bus.
• Buy train tickets at the automated kiosks, not the counter, and double check the platform number on the boards before boarding.

Every course at TUL's International Faculty of Engineering runs in English, in Lecture, Tutorial, Laboratory and Project formats. The stronger option is the European Project Semester (EPS): a turnkey 30 ECTS package built around a five-student team project, plus Team Building, Innovation, Project Management and Polish classes, lighter than the course track and near-unanimously praised.

• Take the EPS over the classic course track: it is a genuine 30 ECTS team project with weekly supervision and a lighter workload, while the course track piles on weekly reports and late exams.
• Sign up for the Polish A0-A1 language course, it is recommended in almost every report for easy grades and daily usefulness.

It depends on your nationality. EU, EEA, and Swiss students need no visa and just register their stay if it runs beyond three months. Non-EU students staying over 90 days generally need a national (type D) student visa from a Polish consulate before arrival, and then register for a temporary residence card if staying a full year.

Start early: consular processing can be slow and you'll need proof of enrolment, funds, accommodation, and health insurance. Once in Poland, you may need to register your address (meldunek) locally. Keep copies of everything, as Polish offices are paperwork-heavy and appointments can be scarce in the big cities.

• EU/EEA/Swiss, no visa; register if staying over 3 months
• Non-EU over 90 days, type D student visa before arrival
• You may need to register your address (meldunek) locally
• Bring proof of funds, insurance, and enrolment

Everything happens on and around Piotrkowska, a 4.2 kilometre pedestrian street of bars, restaurants and wooden market stalls. Zabka shops are everywhere, open 6am to 11pm for a hot dog, while Auchan, Lidl and Dino cover the weekly shop near Basecamp. Most shops close Sundays in this Catholic country. Try baked pierogi, zurek and bigos, and brace for sweet-savoury combos like strawberry pasta.

• Stock up before Sunday, most shops close and restaurants keep shorter hours than you would expect.
• Try the baked version of pierogi, plus zurek and bigos, classic Polish comfort food worth the calories.
• Gia Pasta and the bar Indeks are cheap, reliable go-tos when you do not want to think about where to eat.

No old town here: student life orbits Piotrkowska, the heart of the city, and Manufaktura, a former textile factory turned mall, cinema and bowling alley. OFF Piotrkowska is the trendy pocket of bars and galleries in old factory buildings, EC1 a former power plant turned cultural centre, TUL runs along Aleje Politechniki, dorms and Basecamp on the same street. Outside this, not much to see.

• Piotrkowska is the heart of the city, and Manufaktura the lung, plan your week around both.
• OFF Piotrkowska packs the trendiest bars and galleries into converted factory buildings.
• Aleje Politechniki puts the campus, the dorms and Basecamp on the same street, handy for a short commute.

Lodz's biggest selling point is position: Warsaw 1h15 away, doable as a day trip, Krakow 3h30 for about 9 euros, and Gdansk, Wroclaw, Poznan, Torun, Zakopane and Lublin all realistic weekends. FlixBus runs direct to Prague, night buses reach Vienna, Budapest and Berlin, with ESN discounts on FlixBus and Ryanair. Book Auschwitz and Wieliczka one to two months ahead, watch for the Energylandia trip.

• Do Warsaw as a day trip more than once, it is only 1h15 away and round trip tickets run about 10 euros.
• Book Auschwitz and Wieliczka one to two months ahead, an all-in bus and guide from Krakow runs about 30 euros.
• Use your ESN card for FlixBus and Ryanair discounts, and check the ESN calendar for the Energylandia day trip.

Get your Polish student card fast, it unlocks the 51 percent train discount, carry it always since inspectors are strict. French plans like SFR and RED get cut off after three or four months abroad under EU fair-use rules, switch to Orange Flex or a local e-sim on arrival. Crossing on red is genuinely fined, around 60 euros, and Jakdojade platform numbers sometimes change last minute.

• Do not arrive a week early for a phantom integration week, official activities barely start before the real semester date.
• Switch to Orange Flex or a local e-sim as soon as your French plan gets cut off, usually after three to four months.
• Get Revolut set up before you land, ESN trip reimbursements and most splitting between exchange students go through it.