-museum of l'Empéri (Salon-de-Provence) Others great museums and sites

The Battlefields of the Somme - the official website
www.somme-battlefields.com
Tel. : +33 (0)3 22 71 22 71
Fax : +33 (0)3 22 71 22 69

Founded in 1909, the SAMA, association by the "1901 law", acknowledged of public use from 1921, has the missions to get the museum to be known outside its walls, to take part in its development, and to contribute to its influence in France and abroad. As such, it stays in touch with about 15 foreign military museums friends associations. It takes part in the life of the museum and in the development of its collections; in this way, it has recently bought, for the museum, a pistol and a sabre from the 18th century, as well as a painting presenting Louis XV in battle (mid 18th century), a japonese parachute from World War II, and finally the "Siege of Sebastopol" by the painter Alphonse de Neuville.
It organises trips, visits and lectures on a daily basis for its 1300 members, who also have free access to the museums in the Invalides, and to other museums such as the Air museum, the Navy museum …. It sends to its members a biannual publication, the SAMA review, awarded by the Académie Française.
The other museum institutions in the Invalides :

Closed on Tuesdays, and on January 1st, May 1st, November 1st, December 24th, 25th and 31st
Opening hours : September-June: 10:00 to 12:00 and 14:00 to 18:00 / July-August : 10:00 to 18:00
Fees : full fee: 3.05 € ; discount fee: 2.30 €
Placed on the rocky base overseeing the Crau plain, the Emperi castle (10-13th century, erected by the archbishops of Arles, is the oldest castle in Provence, and one of the greatest (with the pope palace in Avignon and the castle of the king René de Tarascon). It houses a great military history collection, the Raoul and Jean Brunon Collection, property of the Musée de l'Armée. This collections shows a magnificent ensemble of weapons and uniforms, as well as a Napoleonic collection among the richest in France.

The Musée de l'Armée plays an impulsion part and a scientific reference centre part with many French military museums. It takes part in the training of their scientific teams, with the organisation of studying sessions on a regular basis.
List of the French military museums