Traveling through Europe is such a fun, exhilarating experience for most – but for those of us who have gluten or dairy intolerances, or eat vegetarian it can feel very daunting being in a country where bread, meat and cheese are such a big part of the diet… luckily I have had the chance to travel throughout Germany several times so I give you all my tips and tricks as well as share some of my favorites sights I have seen throughout Germany!

Cologne is a beautiful city with so much history – I have had the opportunity to travel to this part of Germany 3-4 times now so I feel like I’ve gotten it down packed.

COLOGNE CATHEDRAL

The cologne cathedral is a must see – it is absolutely breathtaking. This gothic cathedral took over 500 years to build and it is perhaps Germany’s most famous religious structure.

HOHENZOLLERN BRIDGE

Next stop is the Hohenzollern Bridge – since 2008 people have been adding engraved padlocks to the bridge as a sign of love and commitment. I put one on the bridge back in 2017 but I doubt I will ever see it again as there is somewhere around 40,000 locks on the bridge to date!

GINTI INDIAN RESTAURANT

“Ginti Indian Restaurant” is said to be the best indian food in all of cologne – everyone was very generous and helpful when we went and the food was VERY flavorful! I ordered the vegetarian special!

BUNTE BURGER

I forgot to take a photo of my delicious vegan burger (probably because my mouth was watering just looking at it!) I brought some of my meat loving friends and even they were blown away by the burgers! They offer beyond meat patties or their homemade kidney bean patties (both gluten free), they have gluten free buns, delicious mushroom “bacon”, and they even offer gluten free beer! If you’re a vegetarian this is a MUST visit!

other notable spots: Chocolate Museum

Berlin is probably my favorite city in all of Germany, it’s got more of a younger / grunge vibe with LOTS of food options and even better shopping!

GLUTANADA

This facility is completely gluten free which makes it a safe haven for those with celiac – I had a gluten free beer and a savory crepe, both were delicious!

LA LUCHA

this mexican food restaurant is no average mexican food spot – this place was BEYOND delicious and everything was handmade! I got the ceviche, and the refried beans PLUS their jalapeño margarita was to die for!

DAS HOTEL BAR

this is a great spot to stop and get a drink, the bar is small but cozy and the drinks are delicious! I got a pink vodka drink that had berries and egg whites – sounds weird I know but it was very yummy!

CAFE GRUN OHR

This is the cutest little vegan coffee / candy shop! I grabbed myself a delicious latte but don’t be afraid to grab yourself a bag of candy as well!

other notable spots: FOOD: No Milk Today, Kaffee Karamell Berlin, Swing Kitchen, Peter Pane / SHOPPING: Repeater Vintage, 1213bst Vintage, Paul’s Boutique

Hamburg is a cute little town with some delicious food options. I didn’t get to get out and explore in this city as much as I would have liked but I did find a few notable food spots.

NOM VIETNAMESE FUSION FOOD

I get pho a lot at home because it’s easy, delicious and safe from gluten so I felt like this spot was a safe bet. Everyone agreed this place deserved an A+ score, and their cucumber/pineapple refresher was to die for.

MACAIABO

Nathan’s sister joined us on the first part of the tour and she said this was by far her favorite place we went to eat. I was missing bread at this point as many places don’t have gluten free bread so this took the cake for me as well. I got the two vegan options: the black bean and the tomato avocado.

STADTBACKEREI

While this spot is NOT gluten free I was told that there is a special pastry you can only get in hamburg called a “Franzbrotchen” so I had to grab the guys on the crew one before we left. I was told this bakery had the best in town and the guys were not disappointed! They said it tasted like a croissant had a baby with a cinnamon roll (I am living vicariously through them)

other noteworthy spots: dialogue museum (we wanted to do this experience so bad but unfortunately it was sold out so book ahead of time!)

we got to spend two days in Frankfurt on this tour run and honestly Nathan and I loved the two restaurants we went to so much we ended up just going back to them again day two!

VEVAY

This cute vegan restaurant is adorned with greenery throughout, it has a great vibe and the food is spectacular. I got a rice dish with kimchi to take home, my guy got the ravioli (not gluten free), and we got a gluten free vegan lava cake to split and it BLEW away my expectations! This is a must see spot

HUMMUS KUCH

This was probably my favorite eatery in all of Frankfurt, the hummus had so much flavor and the falafel was next level! (the pita bread was NOT gluten free but the facility is completely vegan!)

I didn’t get to spend a ton of time in Munich so I only got to explore to one restaurant but I am hoping to come back (during a warmer season) and explore more!

SIGGIS

Siggis is a delicious vegan spot in Munich that offers a lot of traditional german foods the “vegan way” – the one downside of this restaurant was that there wasn’t a lot of gluten free options (although they did have gluten free beer!) BONUS: their smurf latte was so yummy, it tasted like a vanilla cupcake melted down into a drink!

KLEIDER PRACHT

This was a super cute designer secondhand store I found randomly on google, I went hope with these super cute clip on star earrings (only 15 euros!) and almost went home with this gorgeous bag but I had to budget myself since I have already done so much shopping on this tour!

other noteworthy spots: Torten-Sternchen / Star’s Gluten Free Kitchen, Gastof Obermaier, Secondhand Maier-Spitzbarth