Guggenheim Museum
Aerial view of Venice at sunset with the St Mark's Campanile, the Doge's Palace and the red rooftops of the city on the lagoon

Peggy Guggenheim's Italy: one palace in Venice

Italy's only Guggenheim museum began as a private home bought in July 1949 and has belonged to the Foundation since 1980. Here is the story and the tours that go with it.

If you search for the Guggenheim in Italy you will find one museum, and it started as a house. The Peggy Guggenheim Collection occupies an unfinished palace on the Grand Canal in Venice, where Peggy Guggenheim lived for thirty years. It belongs to the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation now, but the choices on the walls were hers.
This page is the story behind the collection: who she was, how the pictures got from London to Venice, and how a private home turned into a Foundation museum. For tickets, opening hours and the vaporetto stop, go to our Peggy Guggenheim Collection Venice page. We are an independent site, not affiliated with the museum or the Foundation, and we checked every date below on 3 November 2026.
The arithmetic of the story is odd enough to be worth stating. Peggy opened a gallery in London in 1938 and bought the palace in 1949. She lived in it for thirty years and died in 1979, a year before the Foundation opened it as a museum. Three different openings (1951, 1980, 1985) get blurred together in most guides, and we sort them out below.

The only Guggenheim museum in Italy

The Guggenheim name is spread over a few cities, and only one of them is Italian. New York has the spiral building that opened on 21 October 1959. Bilbao followed in October 1997. Abu Dhabi is scheduled to open on 11 December 2026, which means that on the day we checked it was still closed. Venice differs from all three in a way that shapes everything else: nobody commissioned it as a museum. It was a private home first, a personal collection second, and a Foundation museum only after its owner had died.
That order of events is why the visit reads as a portrait. A collection built by one person over decades, and then lived around, is arranged by a different logic than one assembled by a committee. We have not walked the rooms, so we won't judge them. What we can do is lay out the dates, so you know whose eye you are following when you go.
Private Peggy Guggenheim Art Historian Tour, Tickets Not Included, 2 Hours

Private Peggy Guggenheim Art Historian Tour, Tickets Not Included, 2 Hours

5.0 (10) 5.0 stars out of 5, 10 reviews

A private two-hour tour led by an art historian, covering the garden and the Grand Canal terrace. Entry tickets are bought separately, ideally online.

€ 65.00
Private Peggy Guggenheim Collection Tour with Skip-the-Line Tickets, Up to 6
Free cancellation

Private Peggy Guggenheim Collection Tour with Skip-the-Line Tickets, Up to 6

4.8 (6) 4.8 stars out of 5, 6 reviews

A private guided visit to the Peggy Guggenheim Collection for up to six travelers, with skip-the-line tickets included and wheelchair access throughout.

€ 145.00
Private Peggy Guggenheim Tour with Entry Ticket and Dorsoduro Walk, 2 Hours
Skip the line

Private Peggy Guggenheim Tour with Entry Ticket and Dorsoduro Walk, 2 Hours

4.7 (16) 4.7 stars out of 5, 16 reviews

Two hours with a private guide: entry ticket included, then a walk through Dorsoduro. Guiding in German, English, Italian, French or Spanish. Groups up to 15.

€ 183.00
Fast Track Entry Ticket to the Peggy Guggenheim Collection in Venice

Fast Track Entry Ticket to the Peggy Guggenheim Collection in Venice

4.6 (775) 4.6 stars out of 5, 775 reviews

Entry-only fast track ticket for the Peggy Guggenheim Collection in Venice, with the audio guide sold separately at the entrance. Closed every Tuesday.

€ 20.00
Peggy Guggenheim and Dorsoduro Art Mile Guided Walk from the Accademia, 2 Hours
Free cancellation

Peggy Guggenheim and Dorsoduro Art Mile Guided Walk from the Accademia, 2 Hours

4.2 (5) 4.2 stars out of 5, 5 reviews

A guided walk from the Gallerie dell'Accademia through Dorsoduro's art mile, then a guided visit inside the Peggy Guggenheim Collection, entry included.

€ 150.00
Venice Peggy Guggenheim Collection Admission Ticket, Non-Refundable

Venice Peggy Guggenheim Collection Admission Ticket, Non-Refundable

4.2 (81) 4.2 stars out of 5, 81 reviews

A plain admission ticket for Palazzo Venier dei Leoni on the Grand Canal. It cannot be refunded or modified, so settle the date first. Closed Tuesdays.

€ 18.50

Ratings collected by Viator, Tripadvisor, Tiqets and Civitatis

Who was Peggy Guggenheim?

Peggy Guggenheim was born in New York on 26 August 1898. Her father, Benjamin Guggenheim, died on the Titanic in 1912, when she was thirteen. By the museum's account her first acquisition was Head and Shell by Arp, bought around 1933, when she was in her mid-thirties.
She did not inherit a collection. The dates say she built one, starting with a single Arp around 1933 and ending with more than 300 works by the time it became a museum.
The record we could verify is short and concrete. She opened a gallery, commissioned a mural, showed her pictures at the Biennale and bought a palace, in that order, over eleven years.

Peggy Guggenheim: the dates we could confirm

Dates from the museum's own pages unless a line says Wikipedia.

The origins

  1. 26 Aug 1898

    Peggy is born in New York

    The future collector is born into the Guggenheim family.

  2. 1912

    Her father dies on the Titanic

    Benjamin Guggenheim does not survive the sinking. Peggy is 13.

  3. c. 1933

    First acquisition

    Head and Shell by Arp, the first work she buys, according to the museum's biography page. The date is given as 'about'.

The growth

  1. 1938

    Guggenheim Jeune opens in London

    Her gallery, and her first public step as a dealer and exhibitor.

  2. 1943

    Pollock is commissioned

    Peggy asks Jackson Pollock for Mural. She gives it to the University of Iowa in 1948.

  3. 1948

    The collection goes to the Biennale

    Shown in the Greek pavilion from 6 June to 30 September.

  4. July 1949

    She buys Palazzo Venier dei Leoni

    Palace and garden together. The same year she stages a contemporary sculpture exhibition in the garden.

  5. 1951

    The house opens to the public

    Free, three afternoons a week from Easter to November. She keeps doing it until her death.

Today

  1. 1976

    Gift to the Foundation

    The year comes from Wikipedia; the museum says only 'during her lifetime'.

  2. 1979

    Peggy dies

    She had lived in the palace for thirty years.

  3. 1980

    Opens as a Foundation museum

    The Peggy Guggenheim Collection, with more than 300 works.

  4. 1985

    Open all year

    Per Wikipedia.

From a London gallery to a palace in Venice

The first public step came in 1938, when she opened Guggenheim Jeune in London. Five years later, in 1943, she commissioned Jackson Pollock to paint Mural. People retell that story constantly, and the museum's page on it adds the ending: in 1948 Peggy gave the painting to the University of Iowa. The most famous canvas tied to her collecting is therefore not in her palace. We mention it because visitors go looking.
The year 1948 is also when Venice enters the story. Her collection was shown in the Greek pavilion of the Biennale, from 6 June to 30 September. In July 1949, less than a year after the show closed, she bought Palazzo Venier dei Leoni and its garden. The same year she organized an exhibition of contemporary sculpture there, in the garden.
Eleven years separate the London gallery from the palace. The collection went on show in Venice in 1948, and she bought the house the following summer.
She lived in the palace for thirty years. From 1951 she opened house and collection to the public, free of charge, three afternoons a week from Easter to November, and she kept doing so until she died in 1979. The schedule was modest, and she was the one keeping it.
Low-angle view of the ornate Byzantine-Gothic facade of St Mark's Basilica on Piazza San Marco in Venice

Venice before the museum

Peggy's collection is modern and contemporary, and she put it in a city whose own art is far older. We find that mismatch part of the story: a private collector settling in Venice rather than in a capital of modern art.

The photo shows St Mark's Basilica on Piazza San Marco. It is stock photography of Venice and has no link to the Guggenheim itself.

How the collection reached the Foundation

The donation is the point where our sources disagree. Wikipedia dates her gift to the Guggenheim Foundation to 1976. The museum's site says only that she gave the collection 'during her lifetime'. We use 1976 and attribute it to Wikipedia, because we could not reach a primary document with the year on it.
After her death in 1979 the collection, more than 300 works, opened in 1980 as the Peggy Guggenheim Collection under the Foundation's care. Wikipedia reports that it has been open all year since 1985. Two other pieces round out the picture: the Hannelore B. and Rudolph B. Schulhof Collection, a donation of about 80 works in 2012 according to Wikipedia, and the Nasher Sculpture Garden, which the museum presents as part of the visit.
Three openings that people confuse
Year What happened Who ran it How sure we are
1951Peggy opens her home and collection to visitors, free, three afternoons a week from Easter to NovemberPeggy GuggenheimMuseum's own pages
1980The collection opens as the Peggy Guggenheim Collection, a museum of the FoundationSolomon R. Guggenheim FoundationMuseum's own pages
1985The museum is open all yearSolomon R. Guggenheim FoundationWikipedia only
The Foundation's Venetian presence has a second side. It has been in charge of the United States pavilion at the Biennale since 1985, and the museum's pages confirm that arrangement. Wikipedia adds that the Foundation bought the pavilion building in 1986; we could not confirm that year elsewhere.

Fitting Venice into a trip around Italy

For this site we only checked the Venetian museum, so we can't tell you how it sits next to the Uffizi or anything in Rome. What we can do is give you dates that matter in autumn 2026. The Biennale Arte runs from 9 May to 22 November 2026. The Peggy Guggenheim Collection opens a new exhibition, Fucina degli Angeli, on 14 November. That gives you nine days, 14 to 22 November, when both are on.
If your dates fall after 22 November, the Biennale pavilions are closed and the palace still has its own show until 29 March 2027. Whatever the season, plan the day around the museum's weekly closure: Venice shuts on Tuesday, which is easy to miss if you are carrying a Monday rule around from other Italian cities.
The Tribuna room of the Uffizi Gallery in Florence with red walls, gilded frames and marble sculptures
The Tribuna of the Uffizi in Florence, a stock photo. The Uffizi is not part of the Guggenheim and is not covered here; every Italian museum sets its own closing days. · Magnific/Freepik stock, item 18432868

Why we keep saying this site is independent

The name Guggenheim sells tickets, and many sites make themselves look like the museum. We don't. This is an independent guide that lists tours and tickets sold by Viator, Tiqets and Civitatis. If you want to buy directly from the museum, its own site is guggenheim-venice.it, and our Peggy Guggenheim Collection Venice page explains how the museum's ticket compares with the reseller products in our catalog. We say so up front because a reader who thinks they are on the museum's website is making a different decision from one who knows they are not.

Keep reading

Peggy Guggenheim Collection Venice

Hours, prices, the vaporetto stop and a plan for about ninety minutes.

Guggenheim in the United States

The Foundation's own history, from 1937 to the spiral on Fifth Avenue.

Guggenheim in Spain

The other European museum, in Bilbao.

Ready to plan the visit?

Our Venice page has the opening hours, the six tickets and tours in our catalog and the route by vaporetto.

Peggy Guggenheim Collection Venice

Guggenheim in Italy: common questions

Is there more than one Guggenheim museum in Italy?

No. The only one is the Peggy Guggenheim Collection in Venice. The Foundation's other museums are in New York and Bilbao, and Abu Dhabi is due to open on 11 December 2026.

When did Peggy Guggenheim buy the palace in Venice?

In July 1949. She bought Palazzo Venier dei Leoni together with its garden and lived there for thirty years.

When did it become a museum?

It depends what you count. She began opening the house to visitors in 1951, the Foundation opened it as a museum in 1980, and Wikipedia says it has been open all year since 1985.

Did Peggy Guggenheim give her collection to the Foundation?

Yes, during her lifetime. Wikipedia gives 1976 as the year; the museum's site does not state it. She died in 1979.

Is Pollock's Mural in Venice?

No. Peggy commissioned it in 1943 and gave it to the University of Iowa in 1948.

When does the Venice Biennale Arte 2026 end?

On 22 November 2026. It opened on 9 May.

Is this the official Guggenheim website?

No. We are independent and not affiliated with the museum or the Foundation. We list tickets and tours sold by third-party providers.

Tours and tickets for the Peggy Guggenheim Collection

Six products in our catalog, sorted by rating.

Private Peggy Guggenheim Art Historian Tour, Tickets Not Included, 2 Hours

Private Peggy Guggenheim Art Historian Tour, Tickets Not Included, 2 Hours

5.0 (10) 5.0 stars out of 5, 10 reviews

A private two-hour tour led by an art historian, covering the garden and the Grand Canal terrace. Entry tickets are bought separately, ideally online.

€ 65.00
Private Peggy Guggenheim Collection Tour with Skip-the-Line Tickets, Up to 6
Free cancellation

Private Peggy Guggenheim Collection Tour with Skip-the-Line Tickets, Up to 6

4.8 (6) 4.8 stars out of 5, 6 reviews

A private guided visit to the Peggy Guggenheim Collection for up to six travelers, with skip-the-line tickets included and wheelchair access throughout.

€ 145.00
Private Peggy Guggenheim Tour with Entry Ticket and Dorsoduro Walk, 2 Hours
Skip the line

Private Peggy Guggenheim Tour with Entry Ticket and Dorsoduro Walk, 2 Hours

4.7 (16) 4.7 stars out of 5, 16 reviews

Two hours with a private guide: entry ticket included, then a walk through Dorsoduro. Guiding in German, English, Italian, French or Spanish. Groups up to 15.

€ 183.00
Fast Track Entry Ticket to the Peggy Guggenheim Collection in Venice

Fast Track Entry Ticket to the Peggy Guggenheim Collection in Venice

4.6 (775) 4.6 stars out of 5, 775 reviews

Entry-only fast track ticket for the Peggy Guggenheim Collection in Venice, with the audio guide sold separately at the entrance. Closed every Tuesday.

€ 20.00
Peggy Guggenheim and Dorsoduro Art Mile Guided Walk from the Accademia, 2 Hours
Free cancellation

Peggy Guggenheim and Dorsoduro Art Mile Guided Walk from the Accademia, 2 Hours

4.2 (5) 4.2 stars out of 5, 5 reviews

A guided walk from the Gallerie dell'Accademia through Dorsoduro's art mile, then a guided visit inside the Peggy Guggenheim Collection, entry included.

€ 150.00
Venice Peggy Guggenheim Collection Admission Ticket, Non-Refundable

Venice Peggy Guggenheim Collection Admission Ticket, Non-Refundable

4.2 (81) 4.2 stars out of 5, 81 reviews

A plain admission ticket for Palazzo Venier dei Leoni on the Grand Canal. It cannot be refunded or modified, so settle the date first. Closed Tuesdays.

€ 18.50

Ratings collected by Viator, Tripadvisor, Tiqets and Civitatis

See all tours and tickets

Data verified on . Dates from the museum's own pages and from Wikipedia where marked; checked on 3 November 2026. Editorial Policy