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I know, I know…we live in Switzerland, the land of crystal clear Alpine lakes, so “Prettiest Lake in Switzerland” is a bold statement to make. Nonetheless I’m staking my claim for Blausee (literally Blue Lake), a lake in the Bernese Oberland, as one of the prettiest lakes in Switzerland simply because of the color of that gorgeous water. It’s a small lake, more of a pond in fact, and it’s enclosed in a private nature park with walking paths, a playground, barbecue pits, and even an onsite hotel. The lake is fed by underground streams and it never freezes since it maintains a year round steady cool temperature. Turns out to be ideal conditions for trout, so you will also get to see lots of these fish swimming around when you visit. You can also sample them at the hotel restaurant!
We enjoyed visiting Blausee in the summer, when you can take a tour around the lake on a sweet little wooden boat and learn a bit about the lake. But after seeing some beautiful snowy winter pictures of the lake, I decided we needed a winter trip to compare! We got lucky and arrived late in the afternoon when entry was free, visitors were few, and a light snow was falling. Simply magical.
Legend has it that the lake turned this stunning blue color when a heartbroken maiden with eyes the same color blue drowned in the depths of the lake after her lover died. There’s even an underwater statue in tribute to the maiden. If science is more your thing, the reality is that this lake was formed by a rockslide thousands of years ago. Either way, it does feel like a mystical place…especially when there are few visitors and you get the place mostly to yourself!
In addition to the barbecue pit and onsite hotel and restaurant, there’s also a small, casual restaurant outside of the park. It’s on the edge of the parking lot and actually has quite good pizzas. There is also tons to do in the area including the nearby Kandersteg where you can take a cable car up to Oeschinensee (another stunningly gorgeous lake in the mountains), or head in the other direction to Adelboden where there are also lots of mountain options.
Have you been to Blausee? What’s your favorite lake in Switzerland? Let us know so we can add it to our bucket list!!! 😉 We never get tired of beautiful mountain lake views!
I’ve never been to Blausee, even though I drove past it for so many times. Looks nice from your photos. Next time, I really need to make a stop there. 🙂 Switzerland is full of gorgeous lakes, so it is difficult to chose the best one, but I would say my favourite is still Oeschinensee above Kandersteg. I also liked Caumasee, Crestasee, Bannalpsee and Melchsee very much. 🙂
I love Oeschinensee, too! I think Blausee is very nice to visit any time, but it’s a good option if you’re in the area area in winter when the `Oeschinensee is covered in snow and less impressive! I’m going to look up the other lakes you mentioned, thanks for the tips! 🙂
I see. I haven’t been to Oeschinensee in winter, but I LOVED it during the summer. Turquoise water and snowy mountain tops in the background blew me away. 🙂 I wrote about my trips to some of those lakes on my blog. You can check my posts, if you’re interested: Crestasee & Caumasee: https://sloveniangirlabroad.wordpress.com/2015/10/05/in-search-of-the-autumn-sun-by-the-lake-cresta-and-lake-cauma/, Bannalpsee: https://sloveniangirlabroad.wordpress.com/2016/07/12/hiking-to-bannalpsee/.
I also like big lakes, like Lake Lucerne or Lake Brienz, but prefer those tiny lakes in the Alps. They have some appeal, larger lakes don’t have. 🙂
Thanks for sharing those! They look beautiful! We really haven’t explored the Eastern part of Switzerland because it’s so far from Geneva, but we want to! Bannalpsee looks a bit closer to us, maybe will aim for that one this summer. I agree about the big lakes…love them too but they’re just not quite as special!
I’m so glad I’ve discovered your blog, you have another follower!
Thank you so much, Jane!