Fairtytale Lake Bled and Vintgar Gorge

“Off all the paths you take in life make some lead ot the lake“ – Unknown

When it comes to Slovenia, we all visualise a beautiful turquoise lake, a church rising from the calm waters and a fairytale castle perched high atop on the cliff. And all this stunning imagery set against the magnificent backdrop of Julian Alps. This spellbinding place is Lake Bled and of course it was the first place we started our Slovenian excursions with. Click here to see their official website.

How to reach Lake Bled from Ljubljana

By Bus – It’s the cheapest way to reach Lake Bled town centre costing around 6.50 Euros per person (round trip within a day). The journey will take approximately 1 hour 20 minutes. 

By Train – Coming from Ljubljana, you will arrive at the Lesce-Bled train station (Bled has two train stations, the other one is Bled Jezero). Lesce Bled is around 4 km outside the city and you will need a taxi or local bus to reach the city centre. The whole journey will take around 1 hour and will cost 7 Euros. 

By Car – This is by far the most convenient way to reach bled from Ljubljana. The drive will take around 45 minutes to 1 hour. There is plenty of parking available but it gets very busy during peak season. We went there in April and it was quite busy. The parking outside sports arena is quite popular too.

We hired a car from ATET from the Ljubljana airport itself. The condition of the car and their customer service could not be questioned. We hired the car at a very reasonable pirce. We would highly recommend them.

Visit Bled Island 

Bled Island is the main attraction here. It is home to the Pilgrimage Church of the Assumption of Mary. You will need to cross the waters to reach there. The first way is to hire the row boats and do the hard work yourself. Don’t worry, the famous bled cream cake which you are going to have later on in the day will make up for the lost calories 😉

Or you can hire a Pletna Boat for around 15 Euros per person (with return) and sit back to enjoy the view. These large boats carry around 20 people. Once at the island, the ancient staircase consisting of 99 steps will lead you to the church.

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You will hear the sound of the bell over and over again. This is being done by the tourists who are ringing the wish bell of Bled. There’s an ancient folklore related to it as well. Give it a try, you will be showing honour to the virgin Mary. And as the legend says “Ringing this bell will make your wish come true“. Don’t forget to ring it!!

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The views are extremely nice all around. Bled Island is a perfect spot to enjoy some quiet time.

Take a stroll around the Lake

Back at the mainland, the whole loop around the Lake Bled is around 6 km. The views of the lake are breathtaking from all angles. There are numerous swimming locations and you can hire paddle boats as well. 

Besides this you can visit Bled castle. It’s the oldest castle in Slovenia dating back to 1011. This clifftop castle enjoys a very dominant position and provides very impressive views of the lake and island.  You can also hike up to Mala Osojnica viewpoint. 

We could not do any of these as it suddenly started drizzling. The temptation of coffee and Bled Cake was way too strong to resist. We headed over to Vila Preseren Restaurant and ordered these beauties. 

The memory of this beautiful time spent looking at the lake and relaxing with delicious drinks is still so vivid in our memories. No doubt the lake looks pretty on a sunny day but even on an overcast day it looked magical. Lake Bled has that certain therapeutic character to it and we are sure this place will touch your Yūgen Vibes. 

Visit to Vintgar Gorge

After the refreshments we visited some stalls right at the lake which some local artisans had set up. The selection of the souvenirs was amazing and we could not help buying some stuff. It was late afternoon and we were nowhere in the mood to go back to Ljubljana, so we decided to head over to Vintgar Gorge. It’s just a 10 minute drive from Lake Bled. This one mile gorge consisting of bridges and boardwalks over the Radovna river is quite family friendly hike. 

You can walk along the entire length passing through steep rocks, narrow walkways and admiring the scenic Radovna river which gets quite roaring and foaming at times. It’s one of the most popular attractions in Triglav National Park. Walking through the gorge is quite a spectacular experience. 

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The best time to visit is either early in the morning or two hours before the closing time. Rest of the time it is quite packed with tourists and the boardwalks get very busy. 

Bled is a very small town but it has preserved its culture so well. We are sure this fascinating place will take a special place in your heart.