Bled

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Introduction

Bled is a small alpine town of just over 10,000 in north-western Slovenia. It is situated on Lake Bled amongst the Julian Alps and features numerous worthy sights, not least among them the lake itself.

Neighbourhoods

Sights and Activities

Sights

Lake Bled
The most famous feature of Bled, fabled to have healing properties. Irresistably beautiful with crystal blue waters with a church and castle as a backdrop. It is 2120m long and 1280m wide, with a maximum depth of 30.6m

The south and east of the lake is easy to walk due to good paths and is usually crowded as it is nearer to the town. It is shaded with many benches to watch over the lake. The west of the lake offers the best view, capturing the island and castle in one view. The northwest of the lake is usually very busy with people sun bathing and swimming due to the nearby campsite.

Row boats can be hired for €10-€14 per hour. It takes about 1 hour to walk round the lake or 40 minutes on bicycle.

Bled Castle (€7/€3.50)
Bled Castle is located on top of a cliff overlooking Lake Bled and the surrounding area. It was originally built in 1004 A.D. and thus only recently celebrated its 1,000 year anniversary. It can be accessed by a road winding up from behind the castle or alternatively (and more excitingly) via a winding walking trail uphill through the hillside at the front/side. This walking trail connects to the walking trail around the lake itself & is signposted (albeit via a small wooden signpost).

Although small, inside the castle are various weapons & suits of armour as well as remnants of the former fitout of the castle. From one small window inside there is a view that looks directly towards the island in the middle of the lake. From anywhere in the external parts of the castle one will have fantastic views of the lake and the surrounding area.

Bled Island
Bled Island is a small island in the middle of Lake Bled. It can be reached via manually rowed boat from many departure points from around the lake's edge. Prices for this are standard but boats may not leave until somewhat full. People will be given around half an hour to explore the island, which is pushing it, but on a busy day it should be no problem to arrange a longer stay and a ride back on the next boat.

On the island itself there are several buildings, the tallest being the clock tower. The other main building being the Church of the Assumption, a beautiful 17th century church. Entry to the church costs around 3 Euros but once inside the rope can be pulled, ringing the famous wishing bell that is often heard ringing out across the lake (be sure to give it a solid pull).

The local story behind the bell is that many years ago a young woman lived near the lake whose husband had been killed by robbers. Distraught, she almost bankrupted herself to pay for the commission of a bell for the church on Bled Island. During transit across the lake, the bell, its boat & its crew were lost during a violent storm. Again distraught at this further misfortune, the lady gave what she had left to the church & left for Rome where she become a devout nun until she died. After her death, the Pope commissioned a new "Wishing Bell" for the church on the island.

Vintgar Gorge (€5 - adult, €4 - student, €2.50 - concession)
Nearby Vintgar Gorge (4km from Bled) entails a walk through the gorge (1.6km) on platforms that are in many cases built onto the sheer rock walls above the river. About 30 minutes from the entrance is the 16m high Šum waterfall.

A small entry fee is required to walk through the gorge. Afterwards you are able to walk back to Lake Bled. This walk may take a couple of hours along narrow streets through the town of Hom, passing St. Catherine's church with a beautiful view (be mindful of traffic). Whatever local operators may claim, the walk back is not signposted clearly (if at all) but at most times after the initial section Bled Castle can be seen in the distance as a clear reference point.

St. Martin's Church
A white neo-Gothic church. Paths lead here to/from the castle and the lake.

Activities

Adventure
Numerous places offers adventure tours, including bike rides and rafting. One such place is Lifetrek adventures located on Ljubljanska Cesta 1.

Cycling
Bicycle's can be rented for around €1 per hour, €8-€10 for the day (usually until 5pm) or €10-€12 for 24 hours from many places around town. It is probable the best way to enjoy the nature that Bled has to offer.

There are many paths you could take but the most popular is to cycle to Vintgar Gorge or to the Radovna Valley in Triglav National Park.

To cycle, head north following signs to Spodnje Gorje, this (sometimes steep) uphill cycle should take less than 1.5 hours. Once you reach the centre of Gorje, next to the beautiful St. George Church with a red tower, follow the signs left to go to Radovna (follow to Zgornje Gorje then Krnica ~1 hour) or right to go to Vintgar (~30 minutes, a little more uphill). Or you can choose to take a well-deserved break at a pub there.

The Radovna valley cycle route is a beautful park surrounded by green hills and mountains. It is about 16km long from the town of Krnica to Pocar Farm museum at Zgornja Radovna. The journey should take more that 3 hours with a gentle incline. However only the first 2.5km is paved, the rest is gravel. There are a few sights along the way such as the Napoleon Stone which, as legend has it, a soldier of Napoleon carved the emperors signature into a stone as they marched through (6km mark).

The cycle back to Bled is more enjoyable and should take less than an hour. A complete journey takes 6-8 hours to cycle to Radovna, Vintgar gorge (you cannot cycle on the gorge) and back to Bled depending how far in Triglav National Park you cycled.

Events and Festivals

Weather

Getting There

By Plane

By Train

From Ljubljana take a train to Jesenice then transfer to Bled Jezero. It is an hour walk to Bled town centre from the station. There is only one train a day going directly from Ljubljana to Bled Jezero.

By Car

By Bus

Frequent service connects Bled with Ljubljana (€6.20, 1.5 hours). Some services may require a change in Jesenice.

By Boat

Getting Around

By Car

By Public Transport

By Foot

Unless you choose to sleep at one of the guest-houses in the countryside (which are fairly popular and plentiful due to their spectacular scenery) a visitor should have no need for any form of transportation other than their feet and a boat to reach the Assumption of Mary Pilgrimage Church located on an island in the middle of lake Bled.

By Bike

Bicycle's can be rented for around €1 per hour, €8-€10 for the day (usually until 5pm) or €10-€12 for 24 hours from many places around town.
A ride round the lake will not take more that 40 minutes and is rather pleasant.

Eat

Kremna Rezina put Bled on the gastronomical map. It is a vanilla and cream based pastry available throughout the town.

Pizzeria Rustika ((04) 576 89 00, Riklijeva 13). Is a nice local place selling decent pizza, also delivers. 5 minutes walk from St. Martin's Church. €8 for a large pizza.

Drink

Sleep

Budget

Mid-Range

Upscale

Work

Learn

Keep Connected

Internet

Phone

See also International Telephone Calls

Post

The central post office is located not far from the lake and is easy to find. ATMs are available inside.