Madrid is one of my top travel destinations for Gluten Free Travel!
In Madrid you’ll find plenty of dedicated gluten free restaurants and bakeries. But even if you choose to visit non dedicated restaurants you’ll still find plenty of gluten free menus and knowledgably staff that will take your dietary needs seriously and don’t need explanation.
Having a plan ahead of time is as important as always. In this guide you’ll find all the recommendations you need for your trip to Madrid – all vetted by me, a person with Celiac Disease and sensitive to cross contamination. All of these locations were on my personal list – and I’ve eaten at many of them.
Being gluten free shouldn’t stop you from traveling, however it takes much more planning and coordination. I hope my resources can help make your adventures a little bit easier!
Self Guided Gluten Free Walking Food Tour In Madrid
Enjoy all the best gluten free eats in Madrid with this self guided walking tour! Go as fast or as slow as you’d like – stopping along the way for sightseeing, shopping, and incredible tours. This tour includes stops for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, making it a perfect framework for a full day in Madrid.
The tour is designed for a full day in Madrid City Center, but you can break it up if that best suits you.
If you’re following the outline of the guide you’ll want to plan on starting around 9-10am. The tour will take you through breakfast, lunch, snacks, tapas, and dinner – with recommended tours and activities between stops. You can do as little or as much as you like.
The tour covers about 3 miles of walking throughout the entire day. However, if you prefer not to walk the entire time there are metro, buses, and cabs as options.
Please note that Spanish meal times differ from the western standard. They typically don’t start breakfast until 9-10am, lunch starts after 1pm and is the largest and longest meal of the day. Most shops and restaurants will close between about 4-8pm, so be sure to time your meals correctly so you don’t end up hungry when everything is closed. Dinner starts after 8pm and goes well past midnight. In the early evenings it’s common to do a “Tapeo” – a tapas crawl. This social tradition in Spain consists of hopping from bar to bar, enjoying a drink and a small appetizer- tapas, then moving on to the next bar. Then the evening is capped off with a light meal. Many visitors find the tapas to be filling enough and will skip dinner entirely. Madrid comes alive in the late evening, so plan to stay up late or set aside one day to experience the energy of the city.
Where To Eat Gluten Free In Madrid
In addition to a pre planned walking tour this guide also includes 25 recommendations for gluten free breakfast, lunch, dinner, tapas, and treats to ensure you get the best experience in Madrid!
All of these restaurants have been vetted by me, a person with Celiac Disease and sensitive to cross contamination. I’ve spent hours researching for my own trip, reviewing menus, reading reviews, asking wait staff questions, and trying many of these locations myself. Everything I’ve recommended is somewhere that I would personally feel comfortable eating.
In Madrid you’ll find many dedicated gluten free restaurants that make it easy to stay safe regardless of any language barriers. While in the city center of Madrid you’ll find that most waitstaff speaks some English, it’s still nice to know a few phrases to keep you safe. Read how you can be prepared for your trip to Spain here.
This guide includes dedicated and non dedicated recommendations. Non dedicated locations have gluten free menus, a knowledgeable staff, often a separate kitchen for gluten free, and have plenty of great reviews from other Celiac’s.