Hidden Tourist spots – Bled, Slovenia

Hidden Tourist spots Bled Slovenia
Amazing view on Bled Lake, island, church and the Castle with Julian Alp Mountain Range in the background. Photo by Chili.

Hidden Tourist spots Bled Slovenia | While some tourist hot spots are simply loved to death, others still give you room to breathe. We are right on track with eleven blog posts that name locations a bit off the beaten path, but very much worth a visit. Lake Bled in Slovenia is definitely one of them. We visited the region in Mid April 2019. By then, the Julian Alps still gave us that perfect background setting for the insta-famous money shot

Hidden Tourist spots Bled Slovenia
Hidden Tourist spots Bled Slovenia. Photo by Chili.
hidden tourist spots bled slovenia
Hidden tourist spot Bled in Slovenia. A place with a long history.

Hidden tourist spots Bled Slovenia

The city of Bled is situated at the very Eastern end of the Alp Mountains. You might have heard about Lake Bled with its famous picturesque Bled Island. In the 17th century a church dedicated to the Assumption of Mary was built on that island. Today this spot became one of Slovenia’s most visited by tourists and newlyweds.

Bled Castle and the Julian Alps in the background add extra charm to this picture perfect Slovenian landscape. Mountains and canyons around Bled offer a good blend of diversity for outdoor sports fans: hiking through beautiful forests, jumping down waterfalls, climbing, swimming in fresh mountain water pools, mountain biking.

Regarding the weather: It’s kind of ok to go to Bled all year round. Although November, December and January might turn you down a bit. The region has four distinct seasons. Each one of them is charming in its own way. Bled is located 35 km north of Ljubljana International Airport and 50 km south of Villach in Austria. The Slovenian ski resort Kranjska Gora and Austria’s Hermagor ski resort are in striking distance.

And yeah, before we forget to mention it, here comes …

Legend of Lake Bled Bell

Some of the following stuff does not really make sense, but nevermind. Fact: In the 16th century, Pope Clement VII decreed that the bell at Lake Bled Church could grant wishes. It comes with two caveats, however: The bell-ringer only has one wish and must believe in the Catholic God.

The actual legend goes kind of like this: Once upon a time there was a young widow living in the castle of Bled. Her husband was killed by robbers and his body was thrown into Lake Bled. She was very heart-broken. She  gathered all her wealth to let cast a bell for the chapel on the island, in memory to her husband. But the bell didn’t arrive there. Bell, boat and boatmen sank during a storm (This is the part we don’t really understand. This tiny lake is too small for generating any dangerous waves even during a terrible thunderstorm). Next the desperate widow sold all her property with the goal to construct a new church on the island. (This also does not make sense. There was a church already. Just get that bell from the bottom of the lake, right?). She left Bled and lived the rest of her life in Rome as a nun. (Please! What happened to her church project?) After her death the Pope must have heard of her misfortune and of her good deeds during her life as a nun. So in memory to her he decide to cast a new bell. He said that anyone that rings the bell three times and believes in God, his or her wish would come true.

Hidden tourist spots Bled Slovenia
Georgeous gorges are waiting for you in the Bled region.
Hidden tourist spots Bled Slovenia
Bled = Canyoning (splash, yey!)
Bled Slovenia map
Bled, Slovenia (map).

-> Check out Hotels and Guesthouses in the Bled Region  <-


Hidden tourist spots Bled Slovenia. By Chili and Churp | © International Destinations. More about Slovenia -> Stud Farm Lipica (Lipizzaners), Piran, Ljubljana. More Underrated Tourist Spots here.