Florence Nightingale Museum

The Florence Nightingale Museum tells the story of Florence Nightingale. The ‘lady with the lamp’ who cared for the wounded during the Crimean War and who is known as the founder of modern nursing.

The museum is located on the site at St Thomas’ Hospital where Florence Nightingale set up the Nightingale Training School for nurses in 1860, four years after returning from the Crimean War.

This museum is mostly of interest to nurses and to people who are studying to become nurses.

What to see at the Florence Nightingale Museum

The museum is split into three main galleries, each depicting a specific aspect of her life and work. The Gilded Cage gallery shows Florence’s privileged upbringing and her struggle to follow her passion for nursing; The Calling gallery shows how her team operated in the military hospitals at the Crimean War and the Reform and Inspire gallery shows how she campaigned for health reform and the advancement of nursing. There is also a display highlighting British military nursing in peace and war, showing how nursing has evolved from Nightingale’s time to the current day.

The museum also has a programme of temporary exhibitions. Previous exhibitions have included an exhibition about the Nightingale Training School for nurses that opened in 1860, an exhibition focused on Mary Seacole, another nurse who worked at the front lines during the Crimean War, and the museum has even hosted an exhibition about facial hair during the Victorian era.

Visiting the Florence Nightingale Museum

The Florence Nightingale Museum is located on the grounds of St Thomas’ Hospital on the South Bank of the River Thames, just across Westminster Bridge from the Houses of Parliament. The museum is a five-minute walk from Lambeth North tube station and less than a 10-minute walk from Waterloo or Westminster tube stations.

The museum is close to other museums and tourist attractions in the South Bank and Westminster neighbourhoods. Nearby attractions within a ten-minute walk include Lambeth Palace, the London Eye, Elizabeth Tower (Big Ben), Westminster Abbey and the Churchill War Rooms.

The museum features a unique audio tour system where you can listen to the tour via a stethoscope. The audio tour is included in the museum admission fee.

There are also free 15-minute guided tours that operate at 3.30pm on Tuesdays (except during school holidays).

Museum admission is free if you have a valid London Pass.

It is a fairly small museum and you should be able to see everything here in 60–90 minutes.