I know how to live gluten free in Hradec Králové because I lived there for a year, so stay tuned for all my gluten free tips. We all know that Prague is amazing. What lots of travellers do not realize, is that there so many other awesome places to visit in Czech Republic, like Hradec. It is just an hour East of Prague and well worth a visit on anyone’s travel itinerary. What I love about the city is the beautiful architecture of the old town, the abundance of events that happen all summer and that there is so much music everywhere that creates such a fun vibe. I love the city and so will you.
Interesting Fact: Hradec Králové was one of the first settlements in Czech Republic.
What is the Gluten Free Scene Like?
While many restaurants do not advertise gluten free, I was still able to find many restaurants to eat at and lots of health food stores to pick up gluten free products and tasty take-away items. There are some traditional gluten free Czech items at the grocery stores as well, which was exciting. Not to mention some local Jordi’s gluten free chocolate.
The Best Place to Stay in Hradec
The best place to stay is in the old town, because you will be close the best gluten free places to eat and walking distance to almost anything worth seeing in the city.
Gluten Free Restaurants in Hradec
Šatlava Hradec is a fabulous restaurant for a date night and you will get some high-quality food. I love their salmon, it is delectable. You can see their regular menu here. The staff and chef take allergens seriously and I ate there at least 20 times without a problem. Most of the servers spoke great English and communication was easy.
Location: Dlouhá 101/13, 500 03 Hradec Králové, Czechia
Hours: Open Monday to Saturday from 11 am to 11 pm and Sundays from 11 am to 9 pm.
Na Plavka has a delicious gluten free burger. In the summer it is beautiful to sit on the outdoor deck to get a view of the riverbank. Just ask for the bezlepkovy burger. They have tons of bands and music shows in the evening to enjoy as well. I have enjoyed the burger many times and even tested it with my Nima gluten sensor and it passed every time!
Location: Náměstí 5.května 835, Hradec Králové
Hours: Open Monday to Thursday from 9 am to midnight, Friday and Saturday from 11 am to 3 am and on Sunday from 11 am to 10 pm.
Bazalka is a health food store with a daily menu with gluten free items. You may have to go earlier in the day to make sure there is something left for you. The items are made in an allergen aware kitchen and delivered to each location daily. There is not really a place to sit and eat, but you can find a nice bench somewhere and indulge. You can even order on-line and pick items up at one of the locations in the region. I would usually get a slice of their pizza to satisfy my savory cravings and the apple strudel was fabulous.
Locations: Gočárova tř. 516/18, 500 02 Hradec Králové, Czechia & Rokitanskeho 169/3, 500 03 Hradec Králové, Czechia
Hours: Open Monday to Friday from 7:30 am to 6 pm and Saturday from 8 am to 11:30 am
Hradecká Bašta is an allergen conscience cafeteria style place where you can get daily meals that are gluten free. Each meal that is gluten free will have the universal GF symbol.
Location: Velké nám. 33/41, 500 03 Hradec Králové, Czechia
Hours: Open Monday to Friday from 10 am to 2 pm.
Pho 99 is a Vietnamese restaurant that has tons of naturally gluten free meals on their menu. The meals are cheap and my travels to Vietnam made this easy for me. I usually had the bun cha meal which is rice noodles with pork and vegetables.
Location: Karla Tomana 43, 500 03 Hradec Králové, Czechia
Hours: Open daily from 10 am to 9 pm.
McDonalds has gluten free items here in Czech! I know you will be just as excited as I was. I got a gluten free McRoyal hamburger with a non-toasted gluten free bun and fries. I couldn’t believe it. I had my Nima pass the food as gluten free, so I was happy to indulge.
Locations: Pilnáčkova 380, 500 03 Hradec Králové, Czechia, Puškinova 1215/11 Hradec Králové-Pražské Předměstí Hradec Králové (in Au Park mall), Brněnská 1825/23a, 500 09 Hradec Králové (OC Futurum mall)
Hours: Check each location for their hours of operation.
Restaurants can change owners, chefs and menus: please contact the restaurant to ensure a gluten free meal can still be offered.
Gluten Free Bread in Hradec
You can find gluten free bread in the regular grocery stores like Tesco. But you can also find some freshly made bread at a really nice health food store called Zdravicko. You can see their website here. They are located at tř. Karla IV. 867/12 and are open Monday to Friday from 7:30 am to 4 pm and Saturdays from 8:30 am to noon. I picked up gluten free cereals, granola bars, flours to make pizza and tons more.
Hradec Králové Shopping Center
There are two really good malls in Hradec, Aupark and Futurum. They have clothing, electronics, supermarkets, book stores, pharmacy, beauty stores and a game store. It is a one-stop-shop which is always nice. Since they have McDonalds here, I would usually treat myself too.
Aupark also has a store called Sklizeno on the lower level, which has lots of gluten free treats to pick up.
There are also shops and stores along a pedestrian area if you are interested in some unique pieces. You go along Švehlova street and it continues all around the square, called Masarykovo náměstí.
The pedestrian area is really lovely and you can stop at one of the many cafes to enjoy the ambience and people watching.
Gluten Free Groceries in Hradec
There are heaps of grocery stores you can try out. Most of them will have gluten free products in the health food section. I bought GF items in Tesco, DM and Albert most of the time. I also found a great butcher and vegetable store to get high quality ingredients. At the butcher and the deli counters at the bigger stores, each item that was GF would have this symbol on it.
For the best GF products that I found in Czech, click the link.
Things to Do in Hradec Králové
One of my favourite sights is the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit and White Tower. The White Tower has renaissance style architecture and beautiful views. There are installations throughout the walk up to learn more about the tower and its history. For visitor information about the white tower, click here.
The East Bohemian Museum, which is a national cultural monument of the country tells the story of the city and the area which once as a fortress for royalty. The building was recently renovated and is beautiful. For hours of operation and more about the museum, click here.
The urban forests are a must see for a walk, bike ride or roller-skating. Get outside and explore the lovely nature near the city. It is a protected area of ponds, a field of wild pigs, a field of deer and just the graceful beauty of the nature. If you want to pick mushrooms, like the Czechs do, here is your chance. This is where the urban forest is located.
The local parks are a lovely treat as well. The Šimkovy sady park is picturesque, especially when you end your walk at the Rotunda Lounge Café for a drink with nice scenery of a large pond with fish, birds and ducks. The second park is Jiráskovy sady, has beautiful walking paths that lead to the confluence of two rivers. Both are peaceful.
You can also check out the Information Center for events going on in the city. There are many exhibits and events.
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Summer Theatre and Concert Venues in Hradec
If you are visiting in the summer, they have plenty of activities and concerts going on.
At the end of June there is a theatre festival. The theatre festival runs for a week and there are tons of free music stages and theater events.
At the very beginning of July, the city hosts the Rock For People festival. It is a massive rock music festival that brings thousands of people to the city to enjoy new and old rock bands from all over the world. At the end of August there is also the famous Hip Hop Kemp. It is the largest music festival in Central and Eastern Europe and CNN calls it one of the 50 best festivals of the year.
Weather Hradec Králové
April and May are when the trees come alive and the temperatures start to rise from the mid-teens to low 20’s. June to September start to get pretty hot and go into 30 degrees Celsius regularly. The winter months are quite mild, rarely going below 0 degrees.
It seems to be getting hotter in the summers and the winters are getting less snow in the cities. Of course, it will change every year, but it is definitely getting hotter in all of the seasons.
How to Get to Hradec from Prague
Take a train to Hradec from the main Prague train station. If you are flying into the airport, you can take Airport Express to the train station.
Then you can go to the Ceske Drahy (CD) counter to purchase your ticket. There is a direct train or you can make a change in Pardubice. Then you can take a train to Hradec Kralove, which takes you right into town.
Transportation in Hradec Králové
The public transportation network in Hradec is amazing. You can get anywhere in the city with the buses or trolley buses. The schedule is posted on each stop, so if you know where you need to go, then you will be able to see which transportation number will get you there. It is very convenient and reliable. The stop nearest to the old town is Adalbertium. If you take trolleybus 2 it takes you from the train station to Adalbertium stop, which is at the gates of the old town.
Gluten Free in Hradec
I was living Czech for a year. I learned a lot about the country and where I could buy food that I could eat. I share these stories as I know there are others out there who are wanting to travel and have major anxiety about doing so. Live the life you want to.
You should not miss out on all the tips included in this GF Czech Country Guide.
If you are heading to other major cities in Czech, follow my detailed guides:
If you are considering a trip to Czech and have some questions, reach out and send me an email at GlutenFreeTraveller. Stay social with me on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and Pinterest.
Czech History and Background
I loved to learn some interesting things about Czech and if you do to, here are some books to consider:
Cheers, I hope you enjoyed my lovely trek,
Brett – The Ultimate Gluten Free Traveller
