When planning my Switzerland trip, I expectantly researched how to navigate celiac travel. When I came up fruitless, I decided to share with other potential travelers everything I wanted to know – what Swiss foods were safe to enjoy, how to navigate meals at restaurants, grocery store labels, sneaky gluten traps, and how to eat like a king at hotel breakfasts!
Travel for Celiacs in Switzerland
When you have a food allergy, going to a new country can be a little daunting. Before my husband and I took a two-week trip to Switzerland, I did some preemptive research to be better prepared for how to navigate visiting Switzerland on a gluten-free diet.
Unfortunately, my findings were pretty thin. There was not a lot of current or reputable information out there, so I made a short note of naturally gluten-free Swiss foods to enjoy and hoped for the best.
While I was there, I was absolutely blown away by how accommodating and easy gluten-free travel actually was. In fact, even with a language barrier (although we never encountered anyone we couldn’t communicate with in English), Switzerland made life as a celiac or someone with a gluten allergy trouble-free and much more tasty than the US!
Hopefully, this guide puts your mind at ease and you can look forward to a breathtakingly beautiful trip with culinary delights around every corner. If you have a question about something I haven’t addressed here, please leave me a comment below and I will do my best to answer it!
Managing Hotel Breakfast
We opted to stay at hotels in all our locations, and I would highly recommend any of them, both for their incredible accommodations and the fabulous breakfasts they offer. In Lucerne, we stayed at Hotel Art Deco Montana (we did not have breakfast at this one, though), Hotel Schonegg in Wengen, Hotel Eiger in Murren, and Grand Hotel Kronenof in Pontresina.
When opting for included breakfast in Swiss hotels, the typical breakfast buffet offers plenty of options for a gluten-free diet. There are fresh fruits, local cheeses, sliced gourmet meats, eggs, yogurt, smoked salmon, and breakfast meats.
Every breakfast will also offer muesli, particularly Bircher muesli, which is basically Switzerland’s delicious take on overnight oats. As tempting as it will be, don’t scoop up a serving, though, unless it’s labeled GF. Many muesli mixes contain cereals with wheat.
Good news, though! Many of the hotels offer packaged gluten-free muesli right on their buffets, so I simply made my own every morning. I poured the mix in a bowl, stirred in some yogurt, and topped with the offered fresh or dried fruits. Let is sit for about 10 minutes to soften while you enjoy your coffee and enjoy!
The hotels will also taunt you with many forbidden and drool-worthy fresh breads and pastries. 🥺 After a couple of days, though, I learned a valuable tip! If you just ask the server for gluten-free bread, they will warm you the most glorious, warm, soft, squishy gluten-free rolls in individual packaging! I devoured this happily every morning with Nutella or jams.
What About Half-board?
It’s common in Switzerland to offer half-board when you are booking, which I was very confused about. It’s not really clear what it includes, if it’s a good deal, and even if we did “splurge” on the extra expense, I would be able to eat anything.
If you are researching a trip to Switzerland, you are well aware it is a pricey country, especially for dinners out. As far as the worth, we found the half-boards to be a better deal than eating out, especially if you would like to indulge in some nice meals.
Be warned half-board meals are A LOT of food, so you may not want to do them every night. At the time of our travel, it was around 35 Swiss francs per person, and each dining guest picks an appetizer, dinner AND dessert from the menu.
Our hotel servers were knowledgeable about which options I could choose from to make my half-board meal safe for a gluten-free diet. They also offered plenty of modifications, such as choosing a dinner option, but forgoing the sauce or swapping out a different gluten-free side.
Even if I didn’t have the variety of choices my husband had at half-board meals, I always rolled away from the table more than happy!
Restaurant meals
I really wish Switzerland would give the United States a tutorial on how to better serve customers with celiac because I was in absolute awe. Full disclosure, though, I did use the Find Me GF app to narrow down my choices. Generally, restaurants had the wherewithal to know how to modify meals. I can not vouch for cross-contamination issues, but that is where the recommendations from the app come in handy!
In Lucerne I indulged in some of the best gluten-free pizza ever at La Bestia (make a reservation, this place is uber popular!), and had an incredibly soft, fresh pita at Ammos. In fact, Ammos offered so many Greek gluten-free options, that I asked the server why they were so particularly welcoming to our crowd.
He told us the majority of restaurants depend on tourists, and there has been a growing need to make accommodations for food allergies. Therefore, a lot of their foods in particular are just gluten-free. They don’t make separate dishes for GF, the same meals are offered to everyone and they are so damn good, non-GF diners don’t even recognize a difference.
As far as other meals we enjoyed out, almost all the menus clearly denoted gluten-free selections. If you are particularly sensitive, I highly suggest visiting restaurants on the Find Me GF app because there are ratings and commentary pertaining to food safety.
Restaurant meals typically start with a bread basket, but every time I asked for gluten-free bread, I did not receive a barely edible stand-in (looking at you again, US), but absolutely pinch-me-am-I-dreaming spongy, soft rolls.
It would be a little sacrilegious to go to Switzerland and not experience a vat of hot, bubbly gooey Swiss fondue. I wouldn’t recommend diving into every pot you lay eyes on, thinking simply swapping out gluten-free bread will make it safe. However, a lot of Swiss fondue is naturally gluten-free because they are thickened with cornflour. Just be sure the server verifies with the kitchen.
If you find yourself in Luzern, I want to mention one great gluten-free bread experience. The Find Me Gluten-Free app had some rave reviews for a local bakery called Glutenfreie Brotwerkstatt.
Securing the bakery’s goods did require some forethought and planning, but it was well worth it! You place an order through the website order form in the morning and then in the afternoon visit the “bakery” to pick up your order. The “bakery” is actually a shelf outside the baker’s home, with your order put together in a paper bag.
At the time of my order, she didn’t offer online card payment, so I brought a long Swiss Francs to leave. We then took our fresh loaf of bread and soft Swiss pretzel to nosh on with glasses of cold Rose at a local cafe by Musegg Wall. It was extraordinarily worth the effort!
Grocery Stores and Food Labels
I get weirdly excited by grocery stores, especially ones in other countries. I could spend hours roaming the aisles, gawking at local produce, drooling over local foods, and gathering up culinary souvenirs. Of course, navigating safe gluten-free foods provides an extra challenge, but one I enjoy.
In Switzerland, deciphering gluten-free food labels was not a challenge at all. On the front of the package, there will be a clear label with “Free From” or “Glutenfrei” if they are specialty GF foods, like cereals, crackers, breads, cookies, etc. The major grocery stores, Migros and Coop, also have labels on the shelves so they can be quickly located.
Unlike the U.S., the gluten-free foods aren’t in a speciality sections of the stores, but stocked alongside their non-GF versions. So if you are in the cereal aisle, look for the boxes or shelves with the clear labels. There was also a lot more options!
Since Schar brand is local to Europe, there were so many more options I’ve never seen in the U.S. Also, almost every food had a gluten-free option, like fresh pasta, pizzas, soups, a variety of cookies, and every kind of bread imaginable. I was so jealous of all the possibilities!
Gluten-free Swiss foods and what to watch out for
Before traveling to Switzerland I wanted a clear list of some not-to-be-missed gluten-free Swiss foods and recipes. Unfortunately the list was not long, which did give me pause. Was I going to travel for two weeks and only soak up the scenery?
I couldn’t have been more wrong. While there is a short list of traditional Swiss foods that happen to be GF, I was never left longing. Since Switzerland is in close proximity to France, Italy, Germany, and Austria, I found many restaurants offered a melting pot of ethnic dishes to enjoy and made accommodations for travelers with celiac.
Gluten-Free Switzerland Dishes:
Always verify with the kitchen that the foods are prepped safely, without contamination, and that they are, in fact, safe for a gluten-free diet.
- Rösti – Grated potatoes fried until crisp and golden in butter or oil. This Swiss potato pancake does not use a binder, like flour, so it’s safe to enjoy.
- Sausages—Dried and cured meats are absolutely everywhere. We loved to pick them up for picnic lunches, hiking, and train snacks.
- Cheese – If you are a gourmet cheese lover, the possibilities are infinite. The Swiss serve cheese at breakfast, lunch, and dinner so you’ll have plenty of opportunities!
- Raclette – A gooey, stretchy pool of melted cheese served alongside boiled potatoes.
Things to Watch Out For:
It’s hard to navigate any foreign travel without Google Translate (what did we do without this?!). Use the lens feature to decipher labels or translations to clearly communicate with servers, read menus and labels, and articulate questions.
- Aromat – A traditional Swiss seasoning that may be used on a lot of foods, such as eggs, rösti, raclette, veggies, or soups. There seems to be some discrepancy in whether this is gluten-free or not. The manufacturer, Knorr, does clearly state it “may contain gluten,” so highly sensitive people should avoid it.
- Ovaltine—This is everywhere and in SO MANY different forms. Basically, it’s chocolate milk powder, but what makes it off limits is the added malt. Switzerland is evidently obsessed with it, though, and it comes in the form of candy bars, chocolate spreads, candies, hot chocolate, cookies, etc. The tricky part is that it’s usually right with Nutella on breakfast bars, so you may question its safety. It’s not.
- Fondue – This is such a quintessential Swiss food, that you may be tempted to dive in with some gluten-free bread or boiled potatoes. While many restaurants have gluten-free fondue because it’s thickened with cornstarch, it’s best to double-check with the kitchen for how it’s made.
- Museli—Another breakfast item the Swiss can’t get enough of, especially Bircher Museli, which was offered at every hotel breakfast. If you can tolerate oats, you may think you are good to go, but stick with clearly labeled gluten-free muesli. This is not only made with certified GF oats but also in combination with GF cereals and verifies safety from cross-contamination.
