Lake Bled truly feels like it came straight out of a fairytale. Located in northwestern Slovenia, the picturesque lake is backdropped by a hilltop castle and imposing mountains and is home to a tiny island on which resides a photogenic little church. There’s so much beauty around that you will be undoubtedly tempted to take a ridiculous amount of pictures while exploring the area. If you are short on time however and want to know all the best spots to make the best use of your stay, we got you covered. To help you plan your photoshoot locations, we put together this guide on the Best Photo Spots and Viewpoints Around Lake Bled. Some of the spots will require some hiking to get to, but most are easily accessible.
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You might also be interested in these pages (coming soon):
Best Things to See and Do in Bled (Slovenia)
Best Day Trips from Bled (Slovenia)
5-Day Slovenia Road Trip Itinerary
Best Hiking and Walking Trails Near Bled (Slovenia)
Lake Bled Gorge Location & Map
Lake Bled is located in northwestern Slovenia, immediately west of the town of Bled near the edge of Triglav National Park. The closest large town is Slovenia’s capital, Ljubljana.
How to get to Lake Bled
By Car: Bled (and Lake Bled) is particularly easy to get to from Ljubljana (45-50 minutes). It is also within driving distance of Zagreb (2 hours), Salzburg (3 hours), Venice (3 hours), Munich (4 hours), Vienna (4 hours) and Milan (5 hours).
If you need to book a rental vehicle for your travels, we highly recommend using Discover Cars to get the best rates on your rental in Slovenia.
We also highly recommend Airalo (eSIM card) for your connectivity needs when travelling abroad. Airalo is the world’s first and largest eSIM store with eSIM plans for 200+ countries and regions worldwide.
Important: All Slovenian freeways and expressways are subject to tolls. All cars, motorbikes, and camper vans must have purchased a digital vignette online when they plan to drive onto a motorway or expressway. Digital Vignettes with periods of validity of 7 days, 1 month, 6 months or 12 months are available and can be purchased from the Slowenien Vignette website. They are not prohibitively expensive — for instance, the 7-day vignette for cars costs €13.90 (2024).
By Bus: You can take a bus from Ljubljana central bus station to Bled central bus station, which takes about 1h-1h15.
The operator FlixBus provides long-distance bus services to Bled from several of Europe’s major cities, including Salzburg, Munich, Budapest, Prague, Milan, and Zagreb. Schedules and fares can be found on the FlixBus website.
By Train: There are two stations at Bled — Lesce-Bled (4 km from the city center) and Bled Jezero (1.5km from the city center, near the western edge of the lake). Despite being farther from the center, arriving at Lesce-Bled is generally easier as it lies along the Oste railway line, which connects cities between Munich, Salzburg, Villach, Ljubljana and Belgrade, and eventually Athens (in contrast, arriving at Bled Jezero would require an additional train transfer). From Lesce-Bled, you can take the bus (the bus stop is on the other side of the road from the train station) to the Bled central bus station, which is located in the town center).
If you want to save transit time, we don’t recommend taking the train from Ljubljana as the journey takes nearly twice as long as the bus. However, the journey is more scenic from the train.
By Group Tour (from Ljubljana or Zagreb): This can be a great option if you don’t want to deal with the transit logistics while benefiting from a time-efficient direct route. The following tours are particularly popular and well-rated:
Arrival by Car & Parking:
If you are visiting Bled as part of a day trip, you will probably need to use one of the public car parks (if you are staying overnight, your accommodation will likely provide parking for you). One of the better large car parks is referred to as “Lake Bled Parking” next to the Bled arena – the car park is open 24 hours a day, parking is unlimited and costs 2.5€ / hour (2024). For more options, consult Bled’s parking website.
About Lake Bled
Lake Bled is a lake of mixed glacial and tectonic origin in the Julian Alps of northwestern Slovenia, where it adjoins the town of Bled. The lake, which is 2,120 m (6,960 ft) long and 1,380 m (4,530 ft) wide, with a maximum depth of 29.5 m (97 ft), is located in a stunning environment, surrounded by mountains and forests. The lake color will dazzle you, particularly as it changes during the day based on the angle at which the sunlight reflects on the surface, ranging from a deep blue-green to a clear sapphire blue.
The Medieval Bled Castle is built on a precipice overlooking Lake Bled. It is believed to be the oldest Slovenian castle and is currently one of the most visited tourist attractions in Slovenia. The lake itself surrounds Bled Island, where you will find the pilgrimage church (and its 50m high tower) dedicated to the Assumption of Mary, built in its current form near the end of the 17th century. To access the church once ashore, you have to climb a 99 Baroque stone staircase dating from 1655.
As you can see, there are many things to see and do around Lake Bled, so we’ve dedicated several travel guides to the area. In addition to this Best Photo Spots and Viewpoints Around Lake Bled guide, we have also put together the following guides:
–Best Hikes and Walks around Lake Bled, where we will highlight some of our favourite walking and hiking trails in the area.
–Best Things to See and Do in Lake Bled (coming soon), where we will present all the best things to do in the area, including tips on how to visit the Castle and Bled Island.
–Best Day Trips from Lake Bled (coming soon), a guide that can be useful if you are planning to stay a few days in Bled and would like to explore what else the region has to offer.
Best Photo Spots and Viewpoints Around Lake Bled
1) Lakeside Castle Viewpoint
Honestly, the scenery is beautiful all along the southern shore of Lake Bled, but there’s one spot in particular where you can have a great view of Bled Castle towering above the lake.
Depending on the time of day and the sun’s angle, you might have to position slightly to the left or right of the castle to get the best lighting, but this is roughly the spot you want to be in to get shots like these.
2) Aerial Castle Viewpoint from Straza
To get a different perspective of the castle with a backdrop of the tall peaks of the Western Karawanks in the background, you’ll want to head up Straza Hill, which lies just south of the viewpoint highlighted above.
Straza can be accessed from several paths with different starting points around the hill, as described in our guide on Bled’s hiking trails here. There is no need to hike up the mountain if you don’t want to, as you can use the chairlift that is located by this car park. Coming back down can be even more fun if you do so via the toboggan slide along the 520-metre-long track down the hill. We did it once and it was a lot of fun!
You can check up-to-date chairlift and toboggan ride prices here.
3) Lakeside Bled Island and Church Viewpoint
One of our favorite viewpoints for photographing Bled Island and its photogenic little church is about a 15-minute walk from the first castle viewpoint listed above, heading west along Lake Bled’s southern shoreline. There are actually several spots from which you can get shots similar to these below, but they are all more or less around this location here.
4) Lakeside Bled Island and Bled Castle Viewpoint
Not far from the previous point (about a 5-minute walk west) is a fantastic spot that allows you to catch both Bled Island and Bled Castle, with beautiful mountains in the background. This spot is near the western edge of the lake, just south of Lake Bled’s main beach. We find that the best time of day to visit this spot is mid-to-late afternoon, but not too close to sunset as the sunlight might end up being blocked by the mountains behind you.
5) Mala Osojnica Viewpoint (our favorite)
The scenery from this viewpoint is spectacular, but you will have to ascend a short but steep hill to get there (more details on the trail can be found here). If you don’t mind the intense exercise, you will be rewarded with this spectacular scene over Lake Bled. The trailhead is located near the previous viewpoint, and we present the trail in greater detail here.
The best times to visit this viewpoint are mid-to-late afternoon (again, not too close to sunset) or during sunrise, as seen below. It’s a wonderful experience to watch the sunrise over the mountains behind Lake Bled.
6) Bled Castle Viewpoint
This viewpoint requires a bit of climbing as well, along trails that are more manicured and less steep than those used to reach the previous viewpoint. This however doesn’t apply if you park your vehicle in the castle car park, but if you are staying in Bled, most people will just walk to the castle from their accommodation.
Unfortunately, you will have to pay the castle’s hefty entry fee (EUR 17.00 for adults (2024)) to get this view. If you come more than once (the castle ticket grants you access for a full year) or if stick around to enjoy the views from the castle coffee shop terrasse (where you can enjoy coffee as well as craft beers and Slovenian wines) it will make the entree fee more palatable.
Best Time for Photography at Lake Bled
We find that the early morning light is particularly beautiful around Lake Bled, when the lake tends to appear to have a light blue color from the lake’s southern side.
Another favorite time of ours is around mid-to-late afternoon when the lake has a much greener or aqua color.
We’ve touched on how beautiful the lake is at sunrise and in the early morning. Unfortunately, sunsets aren’t quite as magical and tend to be more subdued than sunrises as the sun hides behind the Julian Alps long before sunset, casting a long shadow over the lake.
Best Time to Visit Lake Bled?
We are fans of visiting during shoulder season, which maximizes your chance of having good weather with fewer crowds. We’ve been to Bled a few times and particularly enjoy visiting in September when the colours are starting to change – and we can imagine the autumn colours really popping in October. Another reason we like September is that the daylight hours are still long enough to plan lots of outdoor time and the light is much softer for photography then when it is higher in the sky during the summer months.
Winter in Lake Bled can be equally beautiful if not magical when there is snow – but it can also be quite dull and dark if there isn’t any significant snow accumulation. Your best chance for snow is probably around the Christmas Holidays and during the month of January.
Other Sights and Attractions Near Lake Bled
Vintgar Gorge
Vintgar Gorge is a must-visit in our opinion fo anyone who is spending more than a day in Lake Bled. The gorge itself is stunning. Wooden boardwalks follow the gorge’s walls and run for approximately 1.6 km.
The boardwalk also crosses the river on several occasions giving you spectacular vantage points to capture some of the river’s various features, including small pools, falls, and rapids.
For more information on visiting the gorge, including opening hours and access fees, check out our Vintgar Gorge Hiking and Visiting Guide.
Lake Bohinj
Coming Soon
Where to Stay near Lake Bled
Coming Soon
Photography Gear
If you like our photography, you might be interested in some of the gear we use to shoot our travel and hiking destinations.
Camera Body – Nikon Z 6ii Fx-series Mirrorless Body
Main Lens – NIKON 24-120mm F/4G ED VR AF-S
Zoom Lens – Sigma 745-306 150-600mm f/5-6.3
Polarizing filters – Urth Circular Polarizing (CPL)
Camera Tripod – K&F Concept 64-inch Camera Tripod
Mini-tripod – Lammcou Flexible Camera Tripod
Camera/hiking backpack – Vanguard Alta Rise 48 Backpack
Universal Travel Adapter – VYLEE Universal International Power Travel Plug
Other Travel Essentials
Travel Insurance
SafetyWing is a travel insurance company that offers comprehensive coverage for travellers. Includes Medical Insurance and Travel Insurance. Primarily geared towards long-term travellers, digital nomads, and expats.
e-Sim cards
Airalo is the world’s first and largest eSIM store with eSIM plans for 200+ countries and regions worldwide. With Airalo eSIMs, travellers can get connected the moment they land at their destination and avoid nasty data roaming charges
eSIMS are a sustainable alternative to single-use SIM cards – they are 100% digital, require less energy to produce and be re-used rather than disposed of.
Car Rentals
Discover Cars is our go-to website for car rentals. We almost always find our preferred rate there.
Transfer from Airport
Welcome Pickups is our favourite private transfer service, which you can pre-book at a fixed price. Currently available in 220 cities all over the world (mostly in Europe, but with several major cities in Asia, the Middle East and the US).
Kiwitaxi is another private transfer service – we haven’t tried it yet, but it’s currently available in a few more countries (102 as of 2024).
Hotels and Accommodations (coming soon)
Photography Prints
If you found this blog useful, you can help support our blog by purchasing low-cost digital prints. Printed physical prints are also available for purchase.
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Well, that wraps it up! We hope you enjoyed our guide on the Best Photo Spots and Viewpoints Around Lake Bled and that it will prove useful for planning your trip.
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