The visit of Villeneuve-sur-Lot

Today we offer you a visit to Villeneuve-sur-Lot, it is an important bastide in Lot-et-Garonne. Extended, its old center is however easily visited on foot and in all seasons. She loves mixing styles and genres, it's colourful, rich in heritage, lively on sunny days. The city is split in two by the river Lot which can be navigated thanks to a nautical base at the foot of the bridge. Villeneuve-sur-Lot is an interesting and gourmet stopover during your stay in Lot-et-Garonne.

Photos of the article © Guide du Lot et Garonne

Villeneuve-sur-Lot The Houses on the Edge of the Lot

A new town, a well-organized bastide!

Bastides are new towns, organized to settle populations in the Middle Ages, and allow the establishment of trade. Officially founded in 1264, Villeneuve-sur-Lot is an original bastide as it extends over both banks of the Lot. Its octagonal plan around the central square (Place de Lafayette) is the starting point of 8 cart streets (where carts could circulate). All around the square, the angles are sheltered and pierced with arcades. Shopkeepers could unpack their merchandise in the shelter in front of their house and people could move about in the dry.

Villeneuve-sur-Lot Place Lafayette, starting point for the whole city

Visit of Villeneuve-sur-Lot

If the center of the city can be explored on foot, I still recommend that you bring a map of Villeneuve-sur-Lot. For example, you can take the one you will find at the Tourist Office or through the Villeneuve-sur-Lot visit brochure online (in fr) for consultation and printing. The plan will allow you not to miss anything of the city, because it is extensive and if certain alleys have a heritage interest, others do not necessarily justify a walk. Gourmets will appreciate coming to visit Villeneuve-sur-Lot on market days. This city is the ideal place to familiarize yourself with the culinary specialties of Lot-et-Garonne:

On Tuesday mornings, all year round, the large market takes place at Place de la Liberation (food) and Boulevard Palissy (textiles).
On Wednesday morning, Place d'Aquitaine takes place an exclusively organic market.
On Saturday morning there is another large traditional market Place Lafayette (fruits & vegetables) and Parvis de l'Eglise St-Catherine (food & textiles).
And in summer, the nocturnal gourmet market brightens up the central Place Lafayette on Friday evenings from 6:30 p.m.
From Tuesday to Sunday, you will find fruit, vegetables, fish, meat and delicatessen products and other delicacies at the very pretty Allées Gourmandes.

Gourmet alleys

You may enter the city through the Tour de Pujols (MH) it is the twin of the Tour de Paris (MH) which is on the other side of the city. These are elements of the fortification of the city, which once had no less than 6 towers and 7 entrance gates! Villeneuve-sur-Lot was a bastide of economic and political importance and its defensive enclosure was there to prove it.

Pujols Gate

The Paris Gate

As in many country houses, in Villeneuve-sur-Lot you will find half-timbered (or half-timbered) houses, a characteristic medieval architecture. The wooden jamb is filled in by a wall made of cob (straw, mortar) and brick. Sometimes, we see corbels, overflows of a floor, either to gain space without cluttering the street but also especially because the property tax was calculated on the surface on the ground, the little tricksters!

Just before crossing the bridge, make a detour to the Chapelle des Pénitents Blancs to admire its pink brick architecture. The Old Bridge which is also called the Pont des Cieutats (MH) dates from the end of the 13th century and you will notice that the arches which support it are not all similar, initially it consisted of 5 arches and 2 defensive towers. A flood washed away the towers and 2 arches, which were later rebuilt into a single large arch! At the end is the Chapel of Notre-Dame-du-Bout-du-Pont (also called Chapelle Notre-Dame-de-Grâce-et-de-Toute-Joie), which is a place of pilgrimage for boatmen who walked on the Lot. Its construction is crowned with legend…

Trade in the past was done a lot by river. From the Middle Ages to the 18th century, flat-bottomed boats, the barges, circulated on the Lot. What did they contain? Wood to make barrels or for construction, heating, wine, food… On each side on the banks, you can see a towpath. Hauling is pulling a boat from the shore with a rope tied to the mast of the boat. It was beasts or humans pulling the boats. On the left bank you can go canoeing, pedalo, paddle or an electric boat tour without a license, in season at the Villeneuve-sur-Lot nautical base!

Take a walk on the right bank of the Lot to reach Place Lafayette, which is teeming with people during the markets. Go through the rue de la Convention which will reveal some pretty half-timbered town houses. A pedestrian street will lead you to the Tour de Paris, the counterpart of that of Pujols. Then retracing your steps, you will discover the splendid Sainte-Catherine d'Alexandrie Church. It is all pink, built of bricks (from the local Berger brickworks!). It is a recent building, its construction took place from 1898 to its consecration in 1937 and it was only possible thanks to donations. You will notice its Romano-Byzantine style and its bell tower which, in addition to its color, is reminiscent of that of the Saint-Sernin church in Toulouse! Continue in the small alleys with some original little shops, go to the edge of the Lot, towards the Allées Gourmandes, a nice place to have a drink!

Read our article: The Lot Valley in Winter, what to do and what to see?

What to do on holiday in Villeneuve-sur-Lot?

In addition to your simple but very pleasant walk, you can stop to visit the Gajac Museum which regularly offers artistic exhibitions.
A few kilometers from the center is the Museum of Eysses, it is an archaeological museum that will teach you more about the Roman occupation in the region, the remains found. There are activities in season for the whole family.
Go for a walk at the Château de Rogé on the edge of the Lot, it belongs to the town, it is a pleasant place with sometimes entertainment, playgrounds and sports grounds for children.
To enjoy a magnificent view of Villeneuve-sur-Lot, go to the Heights of Pujols !
On Saturday afternoons in summer, or by appointment or on the occasion of certain events, meet at the Moulin de Bias, in Bias. An authentic place, an old restored mill.
To the south of Villeneuve-sur-Lot are the Grottes de Lastournelle.