It is famous for being the town to which Django Reinhardt retired, and hosts an annual jazz festival in his honor.

It was also the home to Reverchon Industries, a major global bumper car and other amusement ride producer.

[3] It has a lively community, with a primary school, a weekly market, a baker, a butcher, two cafés/bars, several restaurants and hotels.

The town is mentioned in the 1954 novel Story of O as the location of the fictional mansion managed by Anne-Marie, a lesbian dominatrix.

In 1978, the name Samois was adopted by a lesbian-feminist BDSM organization based in San Francisco that existed from 1978 to 1983.