Lake Bled

Glacial alpine lake six kilometres around and warm enough to swim

The lake itself is the main event in Bled. It is a small, near-perfect oval — about 2.1 km long, less than half a kilometre across — set in a bowl of forested hills with the Julian Alps and the snow-capped Triglav massif beyond. A flat 6 km walking path circles the shore, broken occasionally by lakeside bathing platforms and the odd swan.

In summer the water warms enough that swimming is genuinely pleasant; designated bathing areas with changing rooms are scattered along the south shore. Rowing boats, electric punts and traditional pletna are all available for hire. In winter the lake occasionally freezes over solidly enough to walk on, though the Alpine climate has made this rarer than it used to be.

things to do sight story
A story
Lake Bled's distinctive emerald colour comes from suspended limestone particles ground out of the surrounding Julian Alps during the last Ice Age. The lake is fed largely by warm thermal springs from the Bohinj fault — the reason a high alpine lake at 475 metres can warm to 26°C in late summer, when most Slovenes drive up to swim before the autumn rains turn it cold again.