Gluten-Free South Tyrol: gelato, gluten-free shops, pizza and hotels for coeliacs

South Tyrol (Südtirol, Alto Adige) is a province of valleys around Bolzano (Bozen), on the railway over the Brenner, and it is bilingual, German and Italian: even the stations appear in the timetables as «Bolzano Bozen» and «Merano Meran». This page goes valley by valley, in five chapters. In Bolzano, GlutenFreeWorld.eu is a food shop with gluten-free in its name and at the heart of what it sells, Nennè is a mixed pizzeria with a separate gluten-free kitchen and ovens, and Gelateria Eccetera says all its gelato and all its cones are gluten-free; around the city are eis.Innerhofer, an ice-cream shop in Caldaro (Kaltern), and Pension Schlaneiderhof, a guesthouse at Meltina (Mölten). Around Merano (Meran) are FIABA, a gluten-free bakery and shop (check it is open), the new Lana shop of JeLia Eismanufaktur, gluten-free right through in its own words, and Linthof at Naturno (Naturns). Up the Valle Isarco (Eisacktal) are Eisdiele Pradetto in Bressanone (Brixen), which says it is entirely gluten-free, Ristorante Pizzeria Birreria Harpf, about 4 km south of the old town by our estimate, Restaurant, Pizzeria, Bar Putzer in Naz-Sciaves (Natz-Schabs) and the Sterzingerhof in Vipiteno (Sterzing). In the Dolomites valleys are Mauriz Keller in Ortisei (St. Ulrich), Baita Vallongia at Plan de Gralba, Selva (Wolkenstein), and i Tablà, a mountain hut-restaurant in Alta Badia; and in the Val Pusteria (Pustertal), Pizzeria Petra at San Sigismondo (St. Sigmund), Ristorante Bar Pizzeria Christl in Valdaora (Olang) and Hardimitz’n at Riscone (Reischach), by Brunico (Bruneck). Four cards carry the ★: GlutenFreeWorld.eu, FIABA, JeLia’s Lana shop and Pradetto. The other fourteen are shown as places that serve gluten-free food, not as gluten-free-only places, each as it describes itself on its own site. The trains run on three lines, the Brenner line through Bolzano, Bressanone and Vipiteno, the line to Merano, and the Val Pusteria line from Fortezza (Franzensfeste) to Brunico; into the Dolomites valleys you go by regional bus.

A day that works in Bolzano: start at GlutenFreeWorld.eu on Viale Druso, about 2 km west of the centre and about 30 minutes on foot by our estimate, and stock up for the mountain days. Its opening hours aren’t on the pages we read, so check first, and read the label on anything you pick up, as it also sells lactose-free and organic ranges. For lunch or dinner, Nennè on Piazza Alto Adige says gluten-free pizza is its speciality, made in labs and ovens it keeps only for gluten-free products; its menu also has pizzas with gluten, so order from the «Pizze 100% Gluten Free» section, and book ahead. Its hours aren’t stated either. Then walk about 5 minutes, by our estimate, to Gelateria Eccetera on Via dei Grappoli, which says all its gelato and all its cones are gluten-free; ask about toppings and anything else on the counter. For a second day, take the regional train up the Valle Isarco to Bressanone, 30 to 32 minutes, and have a gelato at Eisdiele Pradetto under the arcades of the old town. It says it is entirely gluten-free and that no gluten enters its lab; its hours aren’t printed on its site, and confirm at the counter that everything is still gluten-free. Ristorante Pizzeria Birreria Harpf, about 4 km south of the old town by our estimate, has a gluten-free pizza section and lists hours for its gluten-free restaurant and pizza of Monday to Friday 11.30 to 14.00 and Tuesday to Saturday 18.00 to 22.00; its kamut and spelt doughs contain gluten, so make sure your base is the gluten-free one. Or take the train the other way, 40 to 48 minutes to Merano, for FIABA’s gluten-free bakery and shop, once you have checked it is open, and the Lana shop of JeLia Eismanufaktur, which says its whole range there is 100% gluten-free, cones included.

South Tyrol’s gluten-free strength is its hotels. Five write about gluten-free food on their own sites, and you find them under “Where to stay”: Hotel Villa Madonna at Siusi (Seis) calls itself “a gluten-free hotel in the Dolomites”, with the preparation in a separate kitchen, and lists a gluten-free weekend from 18 to 20 December 2026; Boutique Hotel Nives at Selva (Wolkenstein) says its restaurant offers gluten-free options, including gluten-free pasta; Hotel Weiss at Rablà (Rabland), near Merano, says it has specialised in guests with coeliac disease for over 20 years; Family Resort Rainer at Moso (Moos) in Sesto (Sexten) calls itself “a dedicated gluten-free hotel”, with gluten-free menus that match the daily menus; and Hotel Drumlerhof in Campo Tures (Sand in Taufers) says a separate kitchen block is used only for gluten-free dishes. Two call themselves gluten-free hotels; we quote each as it describes itself, we haven’t stayed, and hotels carry no ★. Where a hotel says AIC checks or recognises it, that is its own claim: AIC’s own word for its network is “informed”. Mind the seasons. Many mountain restaurants and huts close between seasons, roughly from mid-October to early December and from April to May, and each card gives its season as the venue states it: Linthof in Naturno has been open since 22 March 2026 and gives no end date, Baita Vallongia and i Tablà print no opening dates, Pizzeria Petra says it is open all year, and Hotel Nives’s Stevia restaurant is closed in summer. Where a card says the season isn’t stated, check before you go. If your host takes part, the Südtirol Guest Pass is free: all public transport in South Tyrol for your whole stay, from 00:00 on your arrival day to 24:00 on your departure day, for guests aged 6 and over. It is not valid on long-distance trains (EC, Railjet, Frecciarossa, Frecciargento, Italo), on the regional trains Brenner-Innsbruck and San Candido (Innichen)-Lienz, on the Alpe di Siusi (Seiser Alm) shuttles 10, 11, 12 and 14 or on the summer shuttles to Lago di Braies (Pragser Wildsee). You can’t buy it, so ask your host before you book. Without it, the Mobilcard covers the same network for 1, 3 or 7 consecutive calendar days: €22, €32 or €52 for adults and €11, €16 or €26 for children from 6 to under 14, as printed on 30 September 2026.

Across Italy, many places belong to the coeliac association’s eating-out programme, Alimentazione Fuori Casa (AFC), and AIC calls them «informati», informed. In South Tyrol the programme is run by AIC Alto Adige (AIC Südtirol), the province’s section of AIC, and in German it is called Essen Außer Haus. A venue joins when its owner, its cook, pizza maker or gelato maker and its waiting staff have taken AIC Alto Adige’s basic course; an on-site check and further training follow, the venue signs an agreement with AIC, and volunteer tutors check it every six or twelve months. It is not a certificate, and joining is voluntary: plenty of kitchens serve gluten-free food outside it. A venue in the network can show the AFC sticker at its entrance and the AFC logos on its website, so look for it at the door. On this page, Nennè and Eisdiele Pradetto say on their own sites that they belong to the programme, the Sterzingerhof says it works as a member in close contact with AIC, and Pension Schlaneiderhof says AIC recognises and checks it; AIC’s list of member places is for its members, so those are their claims, shown as they make them. As a visitor from abroad you can buy AIC Mobile Welcome, a 15-day version of the AIC Mobile app, also in English. AIC advises booking ahead so the kitchen can get ready. Ask about bread, dumplings and anything breaded, in a mountain hut as much as in town. When you book, and every time you order, say you have coeliac disease, in Italian or in German, whichever the staff speak with you: «Sono celiaco» or «Sono celiaca», or „Ich habe Zöliakie“. The sentence box at the end of this page has both.