Samara is without doubt the most popular family attraction for Basse Copette’s guests. Children of all ages love it – and there really is something for everyone. And as an archaeologist I can say its not just a great place to run around at, but its a great place to learn something about prehistory. At Samara you get to learn something about the last 600 000 years of humanity’s history. Its not a dusty, boring old-style museum with loads of glass cases. On the contrary, its a living archaeological park.

Basket making demonstration

There are a number of really good features about Samara. Of course they have a museum, but its innovative an interesting. They take great pride in their gardens – there is an arboretum, a botanical garden, a wetland willow bed, and a Neolithic garden that tries to show the importance of plants for the first farmers some 5000 years ago.

And set in amongst these gardens are life size reconstructions of houses and villages, and other features of prehistoric life from different periods in prehistory. So you get to see how the people lived in the past at different times according to current archaeological thinking. But these ‘exhibitions’ are not roped off and out of reach, they are open and accessible. There is also a varying programme of demonstrations by archaeologists on how prehistoric people did things in the past, such as making clay pots, carving stone, making stone tools, etc.

Although there is a restaurant at the park, you are allowed to take your own food hampers into the gardens and picnic there. Follow the link on the right to Samara’s website to take a virtual tour of the park.

Samara is not far from Amiens, and is about 45 minutes from Basse Copette.

Making stone tools, the prehistoric way