Lake Bled sits in the beautiful Julian Alps of Slovenia. This mountain range stretches from northeastern Italy to Slovenia, making it an easy drive from Venice, Italy.

For this weekend trip, we booked an Airbnb – and the Aribnb gods must have been on our side. Before booking, I used a $25 off credit for an apartment that was pretty small costing about $100 altogether for the weekend. Upon arrival, our Airbnb hosts informed us that he had another empty apartment and we were welcome to switch to it without paying more (I remember seeing it on Airbnb and it costs much more!) We said, “we’d love to!” and completely fell in love with this little slice of heaven in Slovenia.

After settling in, we decided to take a walk around the lake, which was about a five minute walk downhill from our apartment. The town of Bled is pretty small and definitely walk-able. It’s filled with shops and restaurants, a handful of hotels, and the locals homes and churches. A well maintained walking path encircles the lake making it a nice hour to hour and a half walk around the peaceful scenery.

Boats for hire will take you to the “Church on the Island,” which is literally a church in the middle of the lake on a tiny island. It’s believed that if you make a wish and ring the bell inside the church, then your wish will come true!

 

About a 15 minute drive from Lake Bled is Vintgar Gorge, about a mile long gorge with hiking and walking paths that is definitely worth visiting if you’re already in the area. We spent a few hours at the gorge walking along the trails and admiring its beauty.

The stream running through the gorge has the largest river waterfall in Slovenia.

Back at Lake Bled, we enjoyed foods such as fish caught in the lake and a local pizza restaurant. A famous treat at Lake Bled is the Bled cream cake. It is advertised at every restaurant in town and it’s delicious!

If you’re ever in need of a relaxing weekend, meandering around a town with picturesque views and a beautiful lake, head to Lake Bled. The town has been on the tourist radar for quite some time now, but it’s not overrated by any means. A great trip following Lake Bled, is to head 45 minutes south to Ljubljana, Slovenia’s capital and largest city. We skipped this option on our trip, but a great excuse for a return to this stunning country.