Peggy Guggenheim Collection, Venice (must see)

Described as one of the most comprehensive and brilliant modern-art collections in the Western world, this is also one of Venice’s glossiest museums – the second most popular after the Accademia and a prime venue for touring exhibitions. The collection is housed in the Palazzo Venier dei Leoni, the former Venetian home of Peggy Guggenheim on the Grand Canal. Pursuant to her family tradition, Peggy was a lifelong patron of contemporary artists, impressing critics not only with the high quality of their works but also with the ways she presented them.

As her private collection continued to grow with more and more masterpieces from the Cubist, Futurist, Metaphysical, Surrealist, and Abstract Expressionist schools, Peggy Guggenheim decided to find a larger showcase and, for that purpose, selected Venice. Her husband, Max Ernst, was one of her early favorite artists, as was Jackson Pollock, for whom she provided a farmhouse where he could develop his technique. Displayed here are the works not only by Pollock and Ernst, but also those by Picasso, Duchamp, Chagall, Mondrian, Brancusi and Dalí, plus the modern sculpture works by Giacometti and Paolozzi placed in the garden in which Peggy’s own ashes are laid to rest.

Since her death in 1979, the collection has been administered by the same foundation operating Guggenheim Museum in New York. Visitors are free to wander around and explore the collection in an informal, relaxed way, or to take a 90-minute private tour for a 'behind-the-scenes' scoop on all the art and Peggy's history. The regular multilingual crowd of well-versed individuals bubbling around the property with free information are quite fascinating in their own right.

Why You Should Visit:
To see a treasure trove of works up close and personal – all in one fabulous mansion on the toniest stretch of the Grand Canal.

Tip:
In a new wing of the museum, there is a shop and a cafe in case you want to take a break and reflect on what has been seen and heard.

Opening Hours:
Wed-Mon: 10am-6pm
Closed Tuesdays and December 25
Last ticket issued 30 minutes before closing time