VILLENEUVE-LES-AVIGNON, a town of south-eastern France, in the department of Gard on the right bank of the Rhone opposite Avignon. Pop. (1931) 2,933. In the 6th century the Benedictine abbey of St. Andre was founded on Mont Andaon, and the village which grew up round it took its name. In the 13th century the monks, acting in concert with the crown, established a bastide, or "new town," which came to be called Villeneuve. The town was the resort of the French cardinals during the sojourn of the popes at Avignon, and was important till the Revolution.
Villeneuve preserves many remains of its mediaeval importance. The hospice, once a Franciscan convent, and the church and other remains of the Carthusian monastery of Val-de-Benediction, founded in 1356 by Innocent VI., are notable. A 17th century gateway and a rotunda, built as shelter for a fountain, are in teresting. On the Mont Andaon, a hill to the north-east of the town, stands the fort of St. Andre (14th century), with a forti fied entrance gateway and a Romanesque chapel and remains of the abbey of St. Andre.