Gluten-free at Christmas markets
Start with the simple things at a market: roasted chestnuts, a mug of mulled wine and a plain sausage on a plate (ask about the spices and the grill). Then pick your markets.
Last updated: 1 October 2026
Where do you want to start?
What you can actually eat
The treats table, where the gluten gets in, and the three questions to ask at any stall.
Read the method →Gluten-free advent calendars 2026
The calendars whose maker or shop says gluten free, and how to read the box.
See them →100% gluten-free markets
The markets that are gluten-free by their organisers' own description.
See them →Routes through the markets
String several markets into one trip, from a base where breakfast and dinner are sorted.
See the routes →Christmas meet-ups
Coeliac groups' Christmas dinners, baking courses and parties in November and December.
See the dates →Events calendar
Gluten-free fairs, festivals and markets across Europe.
Open the calendar →100% gluten-free markets
Sasbachwalden
100% gluten-free by the organiser's printed rule
Open the market page →
Oberderdingen
Billed by the organiser as a gluten-free Christmas market
Open the market page →
Lindenhof, Waldbröl
Cancelled for 2026
Open the market page →
Quintessenz, Hamburg
A gluten-free Christmas market in a Hamburg restaurant, on four Saturdays, by registration
See the dates →
Straubing
Run by the local group of the German coeliac society (DZG): two evenings, 20 and 21 November, 16:00 to 22:00. Entry €5 from age 7 (children's ticket up to 6), paid in advance on the organiser's booking page, no refund
See the dates →
Leiderdorp, Netherlands
A gluten-free webshop opens its warehouse: a Sinterklaas market on Saturday 21 November and a Christmas market on Saturday 12 December, 10:00 to 15:00, free entry
See the dates →
Sint-Niklaas, Belgium
The Flemish coeliac association's gluten-free winter market, Saturday 28 November, 12:00 to 17:00
See the dates →
Athens, Greece
The Hellenic Coeliac Society's gluten-free Christmas village at the Serafio of the City of Athens, Sunday 6 December; hours to follow.
See the dates →
Free From Festival, Manchester
A ticketed indoor festival rather than a street market, 12 and 13 December at the BEC Arena. The organiser: “Every product sold at our events is 100% gluten and dairy-free.”
See the dates →Sasbachwalden, Oberderdingen, the Quintessenz market in Hamburg, Straubing, Leiderdorp, Sint-Niklaas and the Free From Festival are also on our events calendar. To see them by place, with the coeliac meet-ups, open our gluten-free events map.
Heard about a gluten-free market "on the Feldberg" in early December? That's the Sasbachwalden market you're after, around 80 km north, with around two dozen exhibitors. We found no organiser page or listing for a gluten-free market at the Feldberg itself.
Markets by region
Here's the part no one likes to say out loud: at most markets the stalls are a snack, not dinner. Treat the market as an evening of chestnuts, a mug and maybe a plain sausage, and plan your real meals around the restaurants and cafés on our list near each market.
Black Forest, Alsace and Basel (base: Freiburg, Strasbourg or Colmar)
More of Germany
Austria and Bratislava (base: Vienna)
South Tyrol (base: Bolzano)
United Kingdom
Nordics and Baltics
Central and Eastern Europe
Photo credits
Freiburg: Wikiolo / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-4.0) · Gengenbach: Gerd Eichmann / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-4.0) · Baden-Baden: Baden de / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-3.0) · Rust, Europa-Park: Tobiasi0 / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-4.0) · Strasbourg: Jorge Franganillo / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-2.0) · Colmar: HarshLight / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-2.0) · Eguisheim: Pug Girl / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-2.0) · Obernai: Wikimedia Commons (CC0/PD) · Mulhouse: Wikimedia Commons (CC0/PD) · Basel: Wikimedia Commons (CC0/PD) · Hamburg: Dguendel / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-3.0) · Lübeck: Fred Romero from Paris, France / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-2.0) · Lüneburg: Virtual-Pano / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-4.0) · Kiel: Ralf Roletschek / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-3.0) · Bremen: Pedro from Maia (Porto), Portugal / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-2.0) · Braunschweig: Volleyfisch / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-3.0) · Goslar: Corradox / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-4.0) · Cologne: Wikimedia Commons (CC0/PD) · Dresden: Pixel Shaper / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-3.0) · Munich: Ashwin Chandrasekaran / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-2.0) · Nuremberg: Escla / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-4.0) · Vienna: Bybbisch94 / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-4.0) · Bratislava: Doko / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-4.0) · Salzburg: User:Diliff / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-2.5) · Innsbruck: Flocci Nivis / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-4.0) · Graz: Wikimedia Commons (CC0/PD) · Bolzano: Mattes / Wikimedia Commons (Public domain) · Merano: Noclador / Wikimedia Commons (Public domain) · Brixen / Bressanone: Pircherflorian / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0) · London: Sarah G… / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-2.0) · Edinburgh: Alasdair / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-2.0) · Bath: Adam Court / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-2.0) · Manchester: Iain Cameron / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0) · Birmingham: Mihaita Tatarusanu / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-2.0) · Glasgow: Michael D Beckwith / Wikimedia Commons (CC0) · York: Gary Ullah / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0) · Belfast: Conall from Downpatrick / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0) · Copenhagen: Wikimedia Commons (CC0/PD) · Stockholm: Jorge Láscar from Melbourne, Australia / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-2.0) · Gothenburg: Heather Cowper from Bristol, UK / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-2.0) · Helsinki: Pekka Vyhtinen / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-4.0) · Tallinn: Wikimedia Commons (CC0/PD) · Riga: Wikimedia Commons (CC0/PD) · Vilnius: Felix Winkelnkemper / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-2.0) · Prague: Victor Belousov / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 3.0) · Český Krumlov: Jakub Hałun / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-4.0) · Budapest: Wikimedia Commons (CC0/PD) · Kraków: Wikimedia Commons (CC0/PD) · Wrocław: Klearchos Kapoutsis from Santorini, Greece / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-2.0) · Warsaw: Marek Mróz / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-4.0) · Ljubljana: Tom Mrazek / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-2.0) · Craiova: Viorel Marcu / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 3.0) · Frankfurt: Daderot / Wikimedia Commons (CC0) · Bamberg: MaxEmanuel / Wikimedia Commons (CC0) · Mainz: Ralf Roletschek / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-3.0) · Zurich: Albinfo / Wikimedia Commons (CC0) · Geneva: Guilhem Vellut / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-2.0) · Lausanne: Sailko / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-3.0) · Montreux: Corno Bob Evans / Wikimedia Commons (CC0) · Trento: Nonunabanana / Wikimedia Commons (CC0) · Florence: Steve Jurvetson / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-2.0) · Rome: George M. Groutas / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-2.0) · Paris: Jean-Pierre Dalbéra / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-2.0) · Brussels: Benoît Prieur / Wikimedia Commons (CC0) · Bruges: Arthurious / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-4.0) · Malmö: Fred J / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-1.0) · Sasbachwalden: Carsten Frenzl / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-2.0) · Oberderdingen: Willi Bautz / Wikimedia Commons (CC0) · Waldbröl (Oberbergisches Land): Elfriedeh / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-4.0) · Hamburg, Binnenalster: Bvcmz248.5 / Wikimedia Commons (CC0) · Straubing: Piotr Tysarczyk / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-3.0) · Leiderdorp: Goodness Shamrock / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-3.0) · Sint-Niklaas: Edison McCullen / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-4.0) · Athens: Radek Kucharski / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-2.0)
Questions
Is Glühwein gluten-free?
By EU definition Glühwein is wine, sugar and spices, with no gluten-containing ingredient. The remaining question is a ready spice or aroma mix, or a "Punsch" blend, so ask; the allergen duty applies even though the drink carries no ingredient list.
Is Bratwurst gluten-free?
The German trade definitions list grill Bratwurst as meat, salt and spices, with no cereal named, and the Nürnberger recipe names no bread, flour or starch either. Gluten can get in through spice preparations, marinades, the roll, the sauce and the grill. Ask, and take it on a plate.
Is Lebkuchen gluten-free?
Not the standard kind: the mass is cereal or starch, and even the almond-rich Elisen version sits on a wheat or starch wafer. Certified gluten-free Lebkuchen exists, packaged and labelled, and it's sold at the gluten-free markets, so look for the label.
Is there a 100% gluten-free Christmas market?
Yes. For 2026 we can confirm four in Germany: Sasbachwalden in the Black Forest (100% gluten-free by the organiser's printed rule), Oberderdingen in the Kraichgau (billed by the organiser as a gluten-free Christmas market), the Quintessenz restaurant in Hamburg (four Saturdays, entry by registration) and Straubing in Lower Bavaria (20 and 21 November, run by the local coeliac society group). In Belgium, the Flemish coeliac association holds its gluten-free winter market in Sint-Niklaas on 28 November. In Greece, the Hellenic Coeliac Society holds its gluten-free Christmas village in Athens on 6 December. In the Netherlands, a gluten-free webshop in Leiderdorp opens its warehouse for a Sinterklaas market on 21 November and a Christmas market on 12 December. In the UK, Manchester's Free From Festival on 12 and 13 December is a ticketed gluten- and dairy-free event.
Can I ask what's in it at a stall?
You can always ask which allergens are in it: that's been mandatory across the EU since 13 December 2014. For sauces and marinades made on site, the German coeliac society reads the rules as entitling you to an ingredient list. A private person selling occasionally is the exception.
Are roasted chestnuts gluten-free?
Yes, naturally. Ask only whether anything else is roasted or sugared in the same drum, and enjoy them.
Are gebrannte Mandeln gluten-free?
The recipe is almonds, sugar and cinnamon, nothing with gluten. Ask two things: whether any flour or starch is dusted on after roasting, and whether they lie open beside the Lebkuchen.
What about Kinderpunsch?
Ask what the base is, juice and spices or a ready mix, before you assume. The name on the board is a clue: under EU law, Glühwein is always made from wine, with at least 7% alcohol, so an alcohol-free drink can't be called Glühwein.
Are waffles and crêpes at the market gluten-free?
Not usually: the standard batter is wheat flour, and a buckwheat crêpe can still have wheat flour mixed in. A gluten-free batter only helps if the stall has its own iron or pan for it, so ask about the batter and the iron. At the 100% gluten-free markets the question falls away.
Are fries at a Christmas market gluten-free?
The potatoes are, the fries not necessarily: they can be coated, dusted with a seasoning mix or fried in the same oil as breaded food. In a US test of fries from shared fryers, 9 of 20 orders contained gluten. Ask what else goes into the fryer.
Are Reibekuchen (potato pancakes) gluten-free?
Only if nothing is added to bind them: many recipes use flour, breadcrumbs or a ready mix, and they're usually fried in shared oil. Ask about the mix and the oil.
Can I drink beer or Malzbier (a sweet malt drink)?
No, unless it's labelled gluten-free: beer and Malzbier are brewed from barley (or wheat), and Coeliac UK counts ordinary beers as unsuitable for coeliac disease. Gluten-free beer exists, in a labelled bottle.
What about coffee, tea or Eierpunsch (egg punch)?
Plain coffee and plain tea contain no gluten-containing ingredient. Ask about flavoured blends, syrups, toppings and ready mixes for Eierpunsch or Feuerzangenbowle (mulled wine with flaming rum), just as for Glühwein.
From our shop
The Christmas markets pocket guide: 71 market cities with a QR code to each live page, the markets that are 100% gluten-free by their organisers’ own description, what to ask at a stall, and a German “show to staff” card, offline as a PDF in English, German and Italian. EUR 3.99.
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