The original Acadians, who settled in and around what is now Nova Scotia, left Vienne for North America after 1604.

Kennedy (2014) argues that the emigrants carried to Canada their customs and social structure.

Part of the region Nouvelle-Aquitaine, it borders Maine-et-Loire to the northwest, Indre-et-Loire to the north, Indre to the east, Haute-Vienne to the southeast, Charente to the south and Deux-Sèvres to the west.

Population development since 1801:Édith Cresson, France's first woman prime minister from 1991 to 1992, was a deputy (MP) for the department.

The most famous tourist sites include the Futuroscope theme park, Poitiers (city of Art and History), the Abbey Church of Saint-Savin-sur-Gartempe, a UNESCO world heritage site, the animal parks of Monkey's Valley in Romagne and the Crocodile Planet in Civaux.