provencealpescôtedazur

This is the Old Port ("Vieux-Port") of Marseille in France. The big building in the distance is the Palais du Pharo. This is the best current match I could find to the view above.

Great,
but do you know why they made all those changes to the palace? Especially the roof, chimneys, top floor etc?

reference photo

Doesn't look, from comparing the "best current match' link, that they've made too many significant changes to the center portion of the building; the windows and statues on the upper level of the facade remain, and the roof was no doubt replaced because of wear. Presumably the upper stories of the wings of the building were altered and the chimneys were capped when a more modern heating system was installed. It is hard to tell if the roof was raised, or if that's an illusion created by the angle of the photos, but if that did happen, perhaps it was to create room for the upgraded mechanical systems. It would make sense, if that level of renovation was being completed, to redesign an overhanging roof for better drainage, too.

That's all merely informed speculation, btw. I don't know anything about this *particular* building.

thanks Miscelena,
sounds all reasonable to me. The changes must have happened just a few years after the photo was taken, because these old postcards shows the Palace with the same roof/wings as it still has today:
postcard 1

postcard 2

This is another view of the Old Port ("Vieux-Port") of Marseille in France, similar to the shot here. The Église Notre-Dame-des-Accoules is visible to the left.

The entrance to the Vieux-Port with Notre-Dame des Accoules on the left:

Google Street View on Quai de Rive Neuve in Marseille

Following RV.AB2C and his note, the Hôtel-Dieu hospital is also clearly visible in the photograph. A modern aerial shot can be found here.

Yes the Vieux Port, been there, very nice!

In the hi-res version of this picture available on the Library of Congress site, you can see a street sign that says "Place Masséna." The Place Masséna is one of the landmarks of the city of Nice in France. The buildings in this and many other photos of the Place Masséna closely resemble those in the photo here.

Place Massena indeed. Yet another quality old photo of Nice. Excellent!

I was at this intersection just today, watching the Christmas festivities in Nice. This is a view down Avenue de Verdun, and to the right is Place Massena (and further north, Avenue Jean Medecin). If you follow Avenue de Verdun in present day, it will bear left and end on the Promenade des Anglais.

Place Masséna in Nice:

Thanks a lot! You've quickly pinned down another view that wasn't listed in the 1905 "Detroit Publishing Company" sales catalog. Usually, we could rely on that book to figure out a location as long as there was an identification number like "1167."