# Peggy Guggenheim Collection, Venice > The Peggy Guggenheim Collection is Italy's finest museum of 20th-century art, in the American collector's former home on the Grand Canal. It holds Picasso, Pollock, Magritte, Dalí, Kandinsky and Brancusi, plus a sculpture garden and a waterside terrace. Entry is paid and it's closed on Tuesdays; allow about 90 minutes. Web page: https://yesgo.io/italy/venice/peggy-guggenheim - City: [Venice](https://yesgo.io/italy/venice), Italy - YesGo score: 39/100 (Yes, if nearby) - Time on site: 1 h 30 min - With kids: Fine with kids - Entry: Paid, best booked online - Opening hours: Wednesday–Monday, closed Tuesday - 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 - Coordinates: 45.43082, 12.33154 - Facts checked: 11.11.2026 ## Key facts - **1949** — Peggy Guggenheim bought Palazzo Venier dei Leoni (source: English Wikipedia) - **1951** — the collection first opened to the public (source: English Wikipedia) - **1980** — the museum passed to the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation (source: English Wikipedia) - **18th century** — the palazzo was begun but never built above the ground floor (source: English Wikipedia) - **Marini** — the terrace holds his bronze Angel of the City (source: English Wikipedia) ## A 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. > **When to go** The museum is small and busy in season: book a timed ticket online and come at opening or mid-afternoon, remembering it's closed on Tuesdays. The garden café is a good break, and children usually love Calder's mobiles and the Surrealists. ## How to get there 1. Vaporetto 1 or 2 to **Accademia**, 5 minutes following signs. 2. Vaporetto 1 to **Salute**, 5 minutes on foot. 3. From the [Gallerie dell'Accademia](https://yesgo.io/italy/venice/gallerie-accademia), 5 minutes' walk. 4. From [Santa Maria della Salute](https://yesgo.io/italy/venice/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 Tick off what's ready — your ticks are saved in this browser. - [ ] Check it isn't a Tuesday - [ ] Book a timed ticket online - [ ] Find Magritte's Empire of Light - [ ] Step out onto the canal terrace - [ ] Relax in the garden café ## Venice's museums: compare and choose Museums and galleries in Venice rated by YesGo. - [Doge's Palace](https://yesgo.io/italy/venice/doges-palace) — YesGo score 50/100 (Yes, go) · 2 h · Paid - [Murano](https://yesgo.io/italy/venice/murano) — YesGo score 42/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 3 h · Free; museum paid - [La Fenice](https://yesgo.io/italy/venice/la-fenice) — YesGo score 42/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 45 min · Paid - [Peggy Guggenheim Collection](https://yesgo.io/italy/venice/peggy-guggenheim) — YesGo score 39/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h 30 min · Paid - [Ca' d'Oro](https://yesgo.io/italy/venice/ca-d-oro) — YesGo score 38/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h · Paid - [Gallerie dell'Accademia](https://yesgo.io/italy/venice/gallerie-accademia) — YesGo score 37/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 2 h · Paid - [Scuola Grande di San Rocco](https://yesgo.io/italy/venice/scuola-san-rocco) — YesGo score 37/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h · Paid ## Dorsoduro in half a day The Accademia, the Peggy Guggenheim Collection and the Salute at the mouth of the Grand Canal. 1. [Gallerie dell'Accademia](https://yesgo.io/italy/venice/gallerie-accademia) — YesGo score 37/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 2 h · Paid 2. [Peggy Guggenheim Collection](https://yesgo.io/italy/venice/peggy-guggenheim) — YesGo score 39/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h 30 min · Paid 3. [Santa Maria della Salute](https://yesgo.io/italy/venice/santa-maria-della-salute) — YesGo score 51/100 (Yes, go) · 30 min · Free ## Don't mix it up Venice's Peggy Guggenheim Collection isn't the Guggenheim in New York or Bilbao — it's a separate museum of the same foundation, in Peggy's own home. ## Tips - 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. ## How we checked History and collection from English Wikipedia. Prices and hours weren't confirmed with an official source — hence the 'checking' badge. ## Sources - English Wikipedia, Peggy Guggenheim Collection; Peggy Guggenheim - Official site guggenheim-venice.it --- This is the Markdown version of a YesGo page for AI assistants. Quote the web page link above, not this file.