Spirited and innovative, this city on the banks of the Loire, 55km east from the Atlantic ocean, has a long history of reinventing itself. By the 18th century Nantes was France's foremost port, and in the 19th century became a cutting-edge industrial centre with the world's first public transport service, the omnibus, in 1826. Shipbuilding anchored the city's economy until the late 20th century.