Accademia Bridge
Venice, Italy
Peggy Guggenheim Collection, Venice
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Photo: Abxbay, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia CommonsFit in nearby today
The essentials in 10 seconds
- Entry
- Paid, best booked online
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From reliable travel sources; we are still checking it against an official one. Double-check before you go. - Opening hours
- Wednesday–Monday, closed Tuesday
verifyingi
From reliable travel sources; we are still checking it against an official one. Double-check before you go. - Time on site
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A typical visit without queueing. In high season add 15–30 minutes. - 1 h 30 min
- With kids
- Fine with kids
- Highlights
- Picasso, Pollock, Magritte, Dalí, Brancusi
- Terrace
- On the Grand Canal with Marini's sculpture
- Time needed
- About 90 minutes
- Vaporetto
- Accademia or Salute, 5 minutes
Key facts
1949Peggy Guggenheim bought Palazzo Venier dei Leoni
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English Wikipedia1951the collection first opened to the public
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English Wikipedia1980the museum passed to the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation
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English Wikipedia18th centurythe palazzo was begun but never built above the ground floor
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English WikipediaMarinithe terrace holds his bronze Angel of the City
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English WikipediaA short history
Peggy Guggenheim, an American heiress, was one of the great 20th-century collectors. In the 1930s and 1940s she bought Cubist, Surrealist and abstract works, befriended artists and opened a New York gallery that gave Jackson Pollock his first show; for a time she was married to the Surrealist Max Ernst.
In 1949 she bought Palazzo Venier dei Leoni on the Grand Canal and lived there for thirty years, opening it to visitors from 1951. Her collection then passed to the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, founded by her uncle, and since 1980 it has been a museum.
An unusual palazzo
Begun in the 18th century for the Venier family, the palazzo was never finished above the ground floor, so among the Grand Canal's towering palaces it's a low white house with a flat roof and trees — the "unfinished palazzo". The "Leoni" in its name is said to recall lions once kept in the garden. Peggy lived among her art, with paintings in the sitting room, bedroom and dining room, and the museum keeps that domestic feel: small, bright rooms with canal views.
The highlights
The collection spans almost every major movement of the early 20th century: Picasso and Braque's Cubism, Kandinsky and Mondrian's abstraction, Surrealism by Magritte (Empire of Light), Dalí, Ernst and Miró, Brancusi's Bird in Space and Calder's mobiles, with a whole room for Jackson Pollock's drip paintings.
On the canal terrace stands Marino Marini's bronze Angel of the City, a rider with outstretched arms facing the water. The sculpture garden has Giacometti, Henry Moore and others, with temporary shows and a café in the pavilion.
How the visit works
You enter from a narrow lane through the sculpture garden. The permanent collection fills the former living rooms in a loop from Cubism to abstraction and Surrealism, ending on the terrace over the Grand Canal. Temporary exhibitions occupy a separate wing, labels are in Italian and English, and large bags go in the cloakroom.
What to see
- Empire of Light — René Magritte.
- The Pollock room — drip paintings.
- Picasso and Braque — Cubism.
- Bird in Space — Constantin Brancusi.
- The terrace and Angel of the City — Grand Canal views.
- Sculpture garden — Giacometti, Henry Moore.
How to get there
Tap a route to highlight it on the map.
Where are you starting from?
We’ll draw it on the map on foot and by taxi; metro and buses open in your maps app. Your location isn’t stored.
On foot
- Accademia Bridge is about 5 min away on foot.
- Santa Maria della Salute is about 3 min away on foot.
- Gallerie dell'Accademia is about 6 min away on foot.
More tips
- Vaporetto 1 or 2 to Accademia, 5 minutes following signs.
- Vaporetto 1 to Salute, 5 minutes on foot.
- From the Gallerie dell'Accademia, 5 minutes' walk.
- From Santa Maria della Salute, 5 minutes' walk.
Is the Peggy Guggenheim Collection worth it?
Yes — it's the perfect break from gold mosaics and Baroque churches: in 90 minutes you meet the great names of 20th-century art in a cosy house on the Grand Canal. Pair it with the Accademia and the Salute, all within five minutes of each other in Dorsoduro.
Before you go
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Venice's museums: compare and choose
Museums and galleries in Venice rated by YesGo. Click a column header to sort.
| Doge's Palace | 50 | 2 h | Paid | 13 min walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Murano | 42 | 3 h | Free | 3.4 km |
| La Fenice | 42 | 45 min | Paid | 6 min walk |
| Peggy Guggenheim Collectionyou are here | 39 | 1 h 30 min | Paid | — |
| Ca' d'Oro | 38 | 1 h | Paid | 19 min walk |
| Gallerie dell'Accademia | 37 | 2 h | Paid | 5 min walk |
| Scuola Grande di San Rocco | 37 | 1 h | Paid | 14 min walk |
Dorsoduro in half a day
The Accademia, the Peggy Guggenheim Collection and the Salute at the mouth of the Grand Canal.
- Gallerie dell'Accademia2 h · Paid
- 5 min walk from the previous stopPeggy Guggenheim Collectionyou are here1 h 30 min · Paid
- 4 min walk from the previous stopSanta Maria della Salute30 min · Free
3 places · about 4 h 9 min with walks · 9 min on foot in total
Nearby and on the way
How to do it right
- Closed on Tuesdays.
- Book a timed ticket online.
- The terrace for canal views.
- The Accademia and Salute are next door.
Questions
When is the Peggy Guggenheim Collection closed?
On Tuesdays.
What are the highlights?
Magritte's Empire of Light, the Pollock room, Picasso, Dalí, Brancusi and the terrace with Marini's Angel of the City.
How long do you need?
About 90 minutes.
Where is it?
In Palazzo Venier dei Leoni on the Grand Canal in Dorsoduro, 5 minutes from the Accademia Bridge.
Who was Peggy Guggenheim?
An American collector of 20th-century art who lived in this palazzo from 1949.
Have you been? Was it worth your time?
1 — no, 5 — absolutely
Your vote counts towards the YesGo score.
Sources and fact-check
- English Wikipedia, Peggy Guggenheim Collection; Peggy Guggenheim
- Official site guggenheim-venice.it
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