Germany dominates Europe's most beautiful ice cream parlours list with three in top five

Architectural Digest has released its annual ranking of Europe's most beautiful ice cream parlours, and Germany has claimed three of the top five spots. The influential design magazine evaluated venues across the continent on architecture, interior design and atmosphere, placing Early Bird Gelato in Berlin second, Antipodean Gelato in Frankfurt third, and Bonbon in Nuremberg fifth.

Only Regma in Santander, Spain, finished ahead of the German contingent. The magazine's judges looked beyond flavour menus, rewarding spaces where the physical environment elevates a simple scoop into an immersive experience. From dramatic concrete counters to open production kitchens, the selected parlours turn dessert into a design statement.

Berlin's strawberry counter sets the tone

Early Bird Gelato, founded in 2015 on Winsstraße in Prenzlauer Berg, centres on a striking strawberry-coloured counter designed by Berlin studio About Space. Small seating islands crafted from pigmented ash complete the look. The magazine praised the "holistic experience" that extends to the product itself: gelato made on site without artificial thickeners, colourings or stabilisers. Flavours range from Greek yoghurt and baklava to Peruvian chocolate with Indonesian long pepper, olive oil with oranges and almond, and peanut butter and jelly.

Transparency and theatre in Frankfurt and Nuremberg

Antipodean Gelato in Nordend earned third place for its emphasis on transparency. A large window lets customers watch production directly, while founder Rachel, originally from Australia, sources lemons from Mallorca, Italian pistachios and hazelnuts, and Valrhona chocolate. Every batch is churned fresh each morning in Frankfurt.

Nuremberg's Bonbon, located in the Augustinerhof development beside the Deutsches Museum, took fifth. Berlin design studio Mekado created four colourful modular counters evoking vintage ice cream vans, with textured plaster walls mimicking ice cream's creamy texture. An open ice cream lab lets diners watch production, while seasonal flavours such as brown butter and carrot cake, black tea and cherry, and blueberry-violet rotate regularly.

London and Barcelona also feature

The top 11 includes two London entries: The Dreamery at number four, a gelato-and-wine concept, and the railway-themed Milk Train at eleven. Barcelona secured two spots with Amiko (seven) and Gelato Collection (eight), joined by Il Gelato Museo in Paris (six), Ještě Jednu in Brno (nine) and ТАЮ in Odesa (ten).

As summer peaks, the list serves as a design-led travel guide for professionals planning city breaks. For those staying closer to home, heatwave tips from southern Europe offer practical ways to beat the heat whether or not a design-forward gelateria is nearby.