Samois-sur-Seine is a very pleasant town/village about 60km south of Paris, close to Fontainebleau; in fact the residents boast of Samois having 'its head in the forest and its feet in the Seine'.
It is certainly a wonderful place to visit, with plenty to see in the area and the people are incredibly welcoming.
The Jazz musician Django Reinhardt lived there until his death, and the village is now famous for its annual Jazz Festival (all types of jazz - gypsy, blues, big band - you name it) which is held the last weekend in June on the island in the middle of the Seine at Samois. Musicians and fans congregate there from all over the world - a superb atmosphere.
The Twinning Association was formed in 1997 and in November of that year a small group of eight 8 people paid their first visit to Harbury - a great success. This was followed by the official inaugural ceremonies in Samois in March 1998 and in Harbury in October 1998.
Since then a coach full of twinners has crossed the Channel in one direction or the other almost every year since and during that time firm friendships have been made, and lots of individual visits taken among the twin families.
The twinning visits usually take place in April/May covering one of the Bank Holiday weekends. In 2009 it will be the last weekend in May - travelling to Harbury on Fri 29 May and returning on Mon 1 June.
Apart from the trips to and from Samois, we try to arrange various social functions during the year such as petanque tournaments, film (French) visits, trips to vineyards, Christmas parties, quizzes etc., as well as regularly celebrating the Fête des Rois (Twelfth night) in January and Bastille Day (14 July).
We currently have about 35 families/individual members and subscriptions (renewable in January) are £5 per individual or £10 per family.
Aims of the Association
- To promote and foster the friendship and understanding between the people of Harbury district and Samois-sur-Seine in France and those of other communities with which the Association may later form links.
- To encourage visits by individuals and groups to and from the linked communities, particularly by young people and the development of personal contacts, and by so doing broaden the mutual understanding of the cultural, recreational, sporting and educational activities of the linked communities.
- To organise fund raising activities to foster the aims of the Association.
Events
The Association organises various events throughout the year. For details of these, please see the What's On section of this web site.
 Party time in Samois |
 Fun for the children too |
Web Links
- Samois-sur-Seine official website (in French)
- Samois-sur-Seine in Wikipedia (in English)
- Samois-sur-Seine in Wikipedia (in French)
- Google Map (or Satellite view) of Samois
- Seine-et-Marne towns and villages
- Django Reinhardt Jazz Festival official site
- Django Reinhardt 'Swing Page'
