Bled Castle

Perched atop a steep cliff more than 100m above the lake, Bled Castle is how most people imagine a medieval fortress to be - with towers, ramparts, moats and a terrace offering magnificent views on a clear day. The castle, which is built on two levels, dates back to the 11th century (although most of what stands here now is from the 16th century) and for 800 years was the seat of the Bishops of Brixen.

The baroque southern wing houses a museum collection that traces the history of Lake Bled and its settlements from the Bronze Age to the mid-19th century. None of the furniture is original to the castle, but it helps give you an idea of how the leisured class lived in the Middle Ages. There's a large collection of armour and weapons (swords, halberds and firearms from the 16th to 18th centuries), jewellery found at the early Slav burial pits at Pristava, a few interesting carvings, including a 16th-century one of the overworked St Florian dousing yet another conflagration, as well as tapestries and ancient tiled stoves. The smallish 16th-century Gothic chapel contains paintings of castle donor Henry II and his wife Kunigunda on either side of the main altar.

Admission to the castle includes entry to the rather touristy Castle Printworks (Grajska Tiskarna) and Castle Wine Cellar (Grajska Klet), which is essentially a shop. The terrace of the castle restaurant affords wonderful views of the lake and surrounding mountains. You can reach the castle on foot via one of three trails signposted 'Grad'. The first trail starts from the car park behind the Bledec Hostel; the second is a tortuous path up from the Castle Baths; and the third starts just north of the neo-Gothic Parish Church of St Martin (Farna Cerkev Sv Martina; Riklijeva cesta). This church was designed by Friedrich von Schmidt in 1905, who also did the city hall and Votive Church in Vienna. Outside there's a small shrine designed by Jože Plečnik.