Gluten Free in Europe: The Ultimate Travel Planning Resource – The Sightseeing Coeliac

For a while now I have been thinking about putting together a blog so that a lot of resources required for travel planning for countries are all together in one place. I often look for the same types of information when researching travel destinations so I thought this could become a great starting point for travel planning.

For a newly diagnosed coeliac, or a nervous traveller this list of resources really does give you an idea of where the easiest destinations are to travel gluten free. Italy will always be my number one recommendation for those travellers, I know, who would have guessed that the land of pizza and pasta would be the dream location! Large cities are always much more gluten free friendly so are a great place to start your travel adventures – think London, Paris, Rome or Barcelona perhaps for your first trip (or to just eat ALL the food!)

Resources for countries linked below include:

Local Coeliac Society/Association Information
Coeliac UK advice/fact sheet for the country if they have one. A great one sheet for help regarding the local language and helpful phrases, gluten free brands available in the country, supermarkets, tips and more in depth Coeliac society details.
Blog posts for the country (Any guides written by a local blogger have been noted as such as you really can’t beat local knowledge)
Information regarding the local cuisine – this helps understand what dishes and ingredients to watch out for, or depending on your mindset what dishes to challenge yourself to find gluten free!
Some local recipes – theres no need to miss out on local cuisine and fresh ingredients if you can’t find a local dish, or are travelling on a budget and staying in and cooking in an air b n b (or if you find you this a more comfortable way to travel with coeliac).

Please do get in touch if you have a blog post you would like adding to this resource, are a gluten free coeliac safe business in Europe or if you have a local traditional easy recipe that you would like people to try out whilst travelling your country! (Some that I have linked may need ingredients modifying to be gluten free).

Due to Covid-19 please do double check any recommendations with the venue themselves to ensure they are still operating before travelling there.

Meet the Coeliac travellers behind the blog posts

Rachel – The Sightseeing Coeliac

Firstly, welcome to my blog! Since being diagnosed with coeliac in 2009 I have travelled to 35 countries, and I have never let being coeliac hold me back. I do a lot of research to find the best gluten free options on any travels, but I love travel planning and I set up my blog in the hope to pass some of that information onto those that don’t! I always wanted to show that travelling the World as a coeliac is possible – I have heard from so many coeliacs that are scared to travel, but not doing so has never crossed my mind. I always seek out any gluten free bakeries on my travels, where I have no self control and I love a challenge of finding gluten free versions of the local cuisine. I do eat out at restaurants with mixed kitchens, as long as the restaurant can confidently tell me their cross contamination measures. In fact, I personally prefer these restaurants as it means my friends and family get the choice of gluteney food if they wish. If this fills you with fear, there are plenty of 100% gluten free restaurants, or recipes to try out in your air b ‘n’ b to choose from.

I have tried to link many resources for you for each country in one place. On top of this I may use the app Find Me Gluten Free and Trip Advisor reviews for information, but do be careful with those resources as people writing the reviews may not be coeliac or take care with cross contamination. Take a look at all the resources below for your gluten free travel inspiration, and do whatever is right for you to be able to confidently travel the World!

Laura – My Gluten Free Guide

Laura, having been diagnosed as coeliac for over 20 years has travelled the World gluten free and has over 60 guides on her website. Her guides are written for coeliac travellers and all restaurants she recommends will have been quizzed on their cross contamination protocols. She grew up in Bath, but now lives in London with her husband and gorgeous toddler daughter, Alba. Head to her website for her huge gluten free guide covering U.K. products, recipes and travel, or click on any of her links below for guides for travelling throughout Europe and in depth local guides to London and Bath.

Sian – Gluten Free Mrs D

The writer behind the luxury gluten free travel blog Gluten Free Mrs D, Sian travels the World with her young twins whilst being gluten free and having a nut allergy. She doesn’t let any of that hold of back as she travels to destinations off the main tourist trail. Take a look at her website, or any of her European blog posts linked below to follow her adventures, or for local knowledge on eating out in London gluten and nut free. I have followed Sian for years on social media and her attitude to travel has always inspired me to not let coeliac stand in the way and I absolutely love following her blog.

Sarah – Endless Distances

Sarah has been gluten free for nearly a decade now and blogging about her gluten free travels on Endless Distances since 2015. She started her travel blog when she moved to England for grad school. From there it has grown and she is currently a full time travel blogger and freelance travel writer. It was really important to Sarah to make gluten free travel a big part of her blog – because finding safe food is the biggest barrier she faces when she travels. She has noticed a huge shift, especially in Europe over the last 5+ years. In 2013 she studied abroad in the UK and since then gluten free food has become much more common. However, with the rise in awareness it has also meant that many restaurants are not as safe or respectful of cross contamination – which is obviously important for people with Celiac Disease. Because of that, she strives to make her blog focus on the risks of cross contamination at different restaurants that she recommends. There’s nothing worse than getting glutened on vacation!

Sarah now lives back in her home state of Michigan, but her blog has gluten free travel guides from all across the UK and the rest of Europe, which she regularly updates. She is a sucker for a gluten free croissant or donut and always hunts those down! She also often travels with her partner, Dan, who loves trying the local cuisine so she always makes it a personal mission to find gluten free versions of the local cuisine wherever she travels.

Matt – Wheatless Wanderlust

Before college, Matt had never travelled outside of the United States before in his life. He had big plans to study abroad in Europe somewhere, maybe in Rome or Paris, but after being diagnosed with Celiac Disease during his first year in school he put those plans on hold out of fear and anxiety for taking what felt like a big step outside of his comfort zone. That was more than a decade ago, and since then he’s travelled around the World and back, including spending many weeks in Europe exploring some of his favourite cities in the world like Budapest, Berlin and Rome. He writes detailed travel guides for destinations he has visited so that you can travel fearlessly and confidently, even if you need to eat gluten free. You’ll find guides to the best gluten free restaurants, super detailed itineraries, and the best coffee shops, bars, places to stay, and more on his website to help you plan for an unforgettable trip.

I have tried to link you to gluten free guides written by coeliacs with cross contamination in mind, and any from the featured bloggers, gluten free globetrotter, the gluten free blogger and gluten interrupted will definitely do that. I have added some other resources too though if they are helpful for gluten free in the country due to being detailed, recent or a guide where there may be limited information so please do double check all recommendations. This should always be the case even for recommendations from others even if they are coeliac as menus, ingredients, staff and restaurants do change. Please make sure you always ask the relevant questions and make sure that you feel comfortable with the restaurants protocols before you go ahead and eat there.

Meet the Coeliac travellers behind the blog posts

Rachel – The Sightseeing Coeliac

Laura – My Gluten Free Guide

Sian – Gluten Free Mrs D

Sarah – Endless Distances

Matt – Wheatless Wanderlust

Gluten Free Translation Cards

Gluten Free Travel Tips

Gluten Free Holidays

Albania 🇦🇱

Andorra 🇦🇩 Celiac Association of Andorra

Armenia 🇦🇲

Austria 🇦🇹

Vienna

Azerbaijan 🇦🇿

Belarus 🇧🇾

Belgium 🇧🇪

Bosnia and Herzegovina 🇧🇦

Bulgaria 🇧🇬

Croatia 🇭🇷

Cyprus 🇨🇾

Czech Republic 🇨🇿

Denmark 🇩🇰

England 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

UK Guides

Accommodation

Recommended UK Chains

Coeliac UK accredited chains

Eight Gluten Free places to eat near Bridport, Dorset – The Gluten Free Blogger

London Guides

Estonia 🇪🇪

Finland 🇫🇮

France 🇫🇷

Paris

Georgia 🇬🇪

Germany 🇩🇪

Greece 🇬🇷

Hungary 🇭🇺

Budapest

Iceland 🇮🇸

Northern Ireland and Ireland 🇮🇪

Italy 🇮🇹

Florence

Rome

Venice

Kazakhstan 🇰🇿

Kosovo 🇽🇰

Latvia 🇱🇻

Liechtenstein 🇱🇮

Lithuania 🇱🇹

Luxembourg 🇱🇺

Malta 🇲🇹

Moldova 🇲🇩

Monaco 🇲🇨

Montenegro 🇲🇪

Netherlands 🇳🇱

Amsterdam

North Macedonia 🇲🇰

Norway 🇳🇴

Poland 🇵🇱

Portugal 🇵🇹

Lisbon

Romania 🇷🇴

Russia 🇷🇺

San Marino 🇸🇲

Scotland 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

Edinburgh

Glasgow

Serbia 🇷🇸

Slovakia 🇸🇰

Slovenia 🇸🇮

Spain 🇪🇸

Barcelona

Madrid

Sweden 🇸🇪

Stockholm

Switzerland 🇨🇭

Turkey 🇹🇷

Ukraine 🇺🇦

Wales 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

Andorra 🇦🇩

Celiac Association of Andorra