Lake Bled – the tourist pearl of Slovenia
Lake Bled (Slovenian Blejsko jezero) is the most famous lake located in Slovenia. If you enter a query about Slovenia into the search engine, you will certainly see a picture of this lake. Because it is Bled that is the true showcase of this country.
Where is Lake Bled located?
Spis treści
The lake is located in the Julian Alps surrounded by beautiful dense forests. Due to the high presence of calcium in the surrounding rocks, the water in the lake has an emerald color. At the same time, the water is very clean and transparent. This place is therefore loved by both Slovenes and photographers and tourists looking for unique places. And the most photographed places include the only Slovenian island – Blejski Otok (loosely translating “Eye of Bled”).
Bled – what is worth doing and seeing?
The town of Bled is located in the vicinity of Lake Bled, which is largely focused on tourism. In practice, therefore, there are only hotels and service facilities (e.g. shops, cafes, casino). The inhabitants live mainly on the outskirts of the city. However, it is not the shops that are the biggest attractions of the area. Or rather:
- lake,
- the island of Blejski Otok,
- city park,
- the surrounding forests,
- Bled Castle
Can you swim in Lake Bled?
The lake, like Poznańska Malta (Poland) or Garda (Italy), is used for sports purposes. There are marked routes on which you can kayak and various types of other boats. Practicing sports is possible here thanks to the presence of warm springs – as a result, the water is warmer than in other alpine lakes. However, this does not mean that there is a complete ban on sunbathing here.
The city beach is available during the summer season. It is located at the foot of the rock with Bled castle.
Is it possible to visit the island of Blejski Otok?
Most definitely – you will have to pay though! The island is owned by the church, which earns money from it. In addition, you also need to sail to the island, which means you need to have a boat. There are small boats/gondolas going to the island (cost around 12 euros per person). Around the lake, there are several ports from which we can sail on such a trip.
There is a historic church of Mary Help of Christians on the island (located on a hill). The bell tower of the church is called the Down of Wishes (from 1543). It is said that if you pull the bell’s string, your wish will come true.
In addition to the church, there is also a restaurant, museum and gift shop. If you have time, try the ice cream. I was tempted by the ones with the taste of apple cider, i.e. – Apple pie (there are two names: Slovenian and English). Ice cream costs between 2.50 and 3 euros.
In pre-Christian times, there was a temple of the goddess Živa (Živa, Polish Żywa, also known as Siwa in Latin), the patron of love, on the island. Živa was a goddess from Slavic mythology, some places of her worship, as in the case of other gods, were transformed into places of Christian worship by, for example, erecting a church.
What are the viewpoints on Lake Bled?
Depending on what we want to see. For example, good places:
- from Bled Castle
- Ojstrica hill
- the Osojnica hill
What you should know about Lake Bled
- Lake area: 1.44 km²
- Size
- max length: 2,12 km
- max width: 1,38 km
- Depth
- max: 30,6 m
- The highest water temperature in the summer months is 26 °C.
- Altitude above sea level: 475 m above sea level
How to get to Lake Bled?
There are various ways to get to Bled, such as:
- train (the railway station is located near the castle hill),
- bus (in Slovenia there is an equivalent of our PKS),
- own or rental car.
If you do not want to go to Slovenia yourself, you can also use the services of travel agencies. They will take you, for example, on a round trip.
