Villeneuve was founded in 1254 by Alphonse, Count of Poitiers, brother of Louis IX, on the site of the town of Gajac, which had been deserted during the Albigensian Crusade.

[4] The main quarter of the town is located on the right bank of the Lot River and is linked to the quarter on the left bank by a bridge from the 13th century, the principal arch of which, constructed during the reign of Louis XIII in place of two older arches, has a span of 36 metres (118 ft) and a height of 18 metres (59 ft).

[3] The buildings of the formet abbey of Eysses, about 2 km to the N.E., are mainly from the 17th century and serve as a departmental prison and penitentiary settlement.

The principal hospital, the hospice St Cyr, is a pretty building standing in beautiful gardens.

[3] The Pont De La Liberation, which spans the Lot river, is a 96.2 metres (316 ft) arch bridge built between 1910 and 1919.