Bled is for sure one of the most famous and the most romantic places in Slovenia, located between Ljubljana and Kranjska Gora, close to the border with Austria. It is a popular destinations for couples and other Slovenes wanting to go for a relaxing walk while enjoying beautiful sights.

The lake itself is the remains of ice from glacier Bohinj. It is 2120 metre in legth and 1380 metre in width, while it’s deepest point being 30.6 metre. There is also natural thermal water, which you can enjoy in Hotel Park, Hotel Golf and Hotel Toplice .

Walk around the lake is nice and relaxing, taking about an hour. Most of the time there are no cars around and if you’re lucky your only company are swans and ducks.

If you are in a hurry, you can grab a ride with one of the traditional coachmen (called Fijaker ) who will take you around the lake (costs 30€), on Bled castle or to other near-by places. You can find them parked by the Festival Hall on the east side of the lake.

You might also see rowers practising. There are regattas every year on May 1st (traditional), June (international) and September (national). Slovenia has quite few medals from Olympics in this discipline .

While walking around Bled you can stop (or even spend a night) at Vila Bled, once the residence of President Tito and now a luxurious hotel. It was renovated just in 2004 with still a very strong feel of not-so-recent era.

You can visit the Bled castle (Blejski grad ): drive up with car, walk up from the lake shore (it’s marked) or choose a carriage ride. It is open 8am – 20pm (May 1st – September 30th) and 8am – 5pm (October 1st – April 30th). There is a discount for students (you must show a student card ), just say it when asking for the ticket. You can also get married here : )

If you have time you can visit the isle of Bled (Blejski otok). The best and nicest way to get there is with traditional local boats, called Pletna . The ride is going to cost you 10€. They are stationed at few places around the lake. On the island there is a church (for opening times and tickets visit their website ).

It’s possible to get married in the church, but note the tradition is that groom must carry his beloved bride up the stairs.. quite steep it is!

If you don’t mind a short hike and would like some great views of Bled, you can hike some surrounding hills. It won’t take you more than an hour, but still make sure you are wearing proper hiking shoes!!!

After all the sightseeing stop for the famous cream cake (kremšneta, kremna rezina, Blejska rezina)! It’s a tradition among locals that whenever you go to Bled, you stop for kremšneta. You can find them in many places around Bled (and other parts of Slovenia), but the very best are in the café opposite the Hotel Park. Mmm, yummy!

What else can you do around Bled?

• Play golf (there is also minigolf behind hotel Park). Golf Bled is the biggest golf playground in Slovenia and the most beautiful as well!
• Go cycling, play tennis, go fishing, go rafting, canyoning, climbing, horse-back riding, hiking.
• In the nearby airport Lesce you can go paragliding or go for a panoramic flight.
• Vintgar – a gorge, located 4 km north of Bled.
• Pokljuka – plateau, located 7 km north of Bled.
• Pokljuška soteska – gorge, located 1 km from village Krnica, north of Bled.
• The cave under Babji zob. Visits are organised from May to August on Sundays at 10 a.m. or by arrangement. Tickets are sold in front of the entrance of the cave.
• Waterfall Iglica – 24 m high, north of village Bohinjska Bela.
• Visit Bohinj lake.
• In winter you can go skiing or cross-country skiing.

Useful links:

• Tourist information about Slovenia .
• Cycling in Slovenia.
• Tourist information about Bled .
• Tourist information about Bohinjska Bela: waterfall Iglica, cave under Babji zob..
• Tourist agency for activities: 3glav adventures, lifetrek adventures