11 March 1815
Golfe-Juan to Cannes
The landing; first bivouac by Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Voyage.
Golfe-Juan to Grenoble · 1–7 March 1815 · 36 stops · 7 nights
Stand where Napoleon stood in 1815. Every stop, in order.
The modern Route Napoléon road isn't where he marched. This self-guided GPS route is: the beach, the mule tracks, the passes and the seven night stops, with a Waterloo battlefield walk included.
Reserve the pack · US$25 Fully refundable · the full 1815 map in your inbox todayNot ready? Join the free waitlist
Built from the 1815 accounts. Drive it, cycle it or hike it. Reservations at US$25 close [closing date].
Jacques-Louis David, Napoleon Crossing the Alps, 1801 · public domain
The problem
The road signs get it wrong.
Guidebooks give you the towns. Battlefield apps give you one battle at a time. Nothing walks you along the real route, in order.
The road signposted today as the Route Napoléon was built for cars long after 1815. Between Grasse and Sisteron, Napoleon's column marched on winter mule tracks through the mountains, and the modern road often leaves that line entirely. Near Malijai it crosses the Durance on bridges that didn't exist yet.
So you can drive the whole N85 and never once stand where the decisions were made: the beach at Golfe-Juan, the pass above Castellane, the field outside Grenoble where the troops sent to stop him joined him instead.
This route puts you on the 1815 line, stop by stop, and tells you what happened where you're standing.
The map
The 1815 line, not the N85.
Every stretch is tagged as original track (now a hiking trail), old road, or modern road, so you always know whether you're on his line or beside it. The red is where he went. The grey is where the signs send you.
- Original track, now trail
- Old or modern road on his line
- The N85 where it leaves him
- Night stop
- Town on the route
- Mountain pass
- Where the troops sent to stop him joined him
- Napoleon's column
- Royal regiment that joined him
Towns, rivers and passes at their real positions. The red line joins the stops in order; it is not a turn-by-turn route. Unit symbols: infantry; II battalion, III regiment.
Relief: Mapzen Terrain Tiles (SRTM; EU-DEM © Copernicus). Rivers and roads © OpenStreetMap contributors.
36
points from the 1815 accounts: the beach, inns, passes, night stops and villages
7
daily stages, 1–7 March 1815, in the original order or at your own pace
1,246 m
over the Col Bayard on day six, Gap to Corps
+ Waterloo
battlefield walk included: 7 stands, 4 phases of the battle
Want the full map on paper today, all 36 stops? It comes with your reservation. Free overview map on the waitlist
Reserve the pack · US$25Seven days
Seven days that brought him back to power.
Each stage is a day of the march. Do one on a Sunday drive, or all seven on foot across a spring week. Your progress is saved either way.
22 March
Cannes to Séranon
Plateau above Grasse; the Siagne gorges; night at the Château de Brondet.
33 March
Séranon to Barrême
Into Castellane to drums; over the Col des Lèques; night at Judge Tartanson's house.
44 March
Barrême to Malijai
Dinner at an inn in Digne; night at the Château de Malijai.
55 March
Malijai to Gap
Sisteron, the town that let him cross the Durance; night in Gap.
66 March
Gap to Corps
Over the Col Bayard at 1,246 m.
77 March
Corps to Grenoble
The Prairie de la Rencontre, where the troops sent to stop him joined him.
Included in the pack · battlefield walk
Waterloo, 18 June 1815. Seven stands, four phases, from where he saw it.
A battlefield walk is a set of stands in the order the battle unfolded, with the positions of the French, Allied and Prussian forces at each phase. Walk from the first assault to the last attack of the Guard and see why the ground decided it.
Next in research, by your vote:
Wellington in Portugal and SpainRichard the Lionheart in FranceVote on the waitlistEarn every kilometre
Check in. Earn the ground.
Your phone's GPS confirms you're there. Primary sites, night stops, passes and villages each earn points. Complete a full day, the whole route, or the Waterloo walk for a bonus. Your record stays with you, so finish it in one trip or over several years.
- Points at every one of the 36 stops
- Day bonus for a full stage in order
- Route bonus for all seven days
- Waterloo bonus for all seven stands
Field card · example
Day 3 of 7
Séranon to Barrême
Castellane, the drumsReached
Col des LèquesReached
Judge Tartanson's house, Barrême2.4 km ahead
Two stops to the day bonus. Night stop at Barrême.
What you earn
A campaign medal for every route. Field badges for the ground along the way.
Finish a whole route and the campaign medal goes on your record. Smaller badges mark the landing beach, every night stop, each pass and each battlefield stand. Your record is yours to keep and to show.
Campaign medals · one per route completed
Route Napoléon
All 36 stops, Golfe-Juan to Grenoble
Waterloo
All 7 stands, in order
Peninsular War
In research · vote on the waitlist
Lionheart in France
In research · vote on the waitlist
Field badges · earned stop by stop
Landing beach
Golfe-Juan
Night stop
one for each of 7
Mountain pass
Lèques · Bayard
Village
where the column passed
Battlefield stand
7 at Waterloo
Full day
a stage, in order
Full route
all 7 days
The first medal is the Route Napoléon. Reserve it and start the record.
Reserve the pack · US$25[Real photo of Tim, maps in hand · no stock imagery]
Who's building it
Built by a soldier who reads ground for a living.
I'm Tim, a former Canadian infantry officer, paratrooper and reconnaissance patrolman, with multiple operational tours and years of planning operations at home and abroad. I've walked a lot of ground with maps in hand. I'm building Marchline because standing where a decision was made, and seeing what the commander saw, beats reading about it.
The Route Napoléon is the first route. Waterloo, Wellington in Portugal and Spain, and Richard the Lionheart in France are next.
— Tim Sattler
Reserve
Reserve your copy. The map today, the pack at launch, a refund any time before.
Reservations at US$25 close [closing date].
Route Napoléon pack
US$25
Today, by email
The full 1815 map (PDF): all 36 stops, the original track marked where it leaves the N85, and seven day-by-day sheets you can print and carry.
At launch, before spring 2027
- The full 7-day Route Napoléon on your phone, GPS check-ins, points and medals
- The Waterloo battlefield walk, 7 stands
- Fully refundable until launch, no questions asked
Secure checkout through Stripe. You'll confirm at checkout that this is a refundable pre-order for a product launching in 2027.
Not ready to reserve?
Join the free waitlist
Get the free one-page overview map of the 1815 line, with the seven night stops, in your inbox now. Launch news and one early-access offer only if you tick the box.
On the roadmap · company on the road
Find the other people who'd rather walk a march than read about it.
Most of us do these trips alone, or drag along someone who'd rather be at the beach. After launch we want to let you see who else is on the route the same week, meet at the night stops, and form a party for the next one.
Not in the first release. If you'd use it, tick the box on the waitlist.
Questions
Before you reserve.
- Can I get a refund?
- Yes, any time before launch, in full, no questions asked. If the launch slips past spring 2027, the refund is still yours to take.
- What do I get today?
- Reserve and you get the full 1815 map by email within minutes: all 36 stops, the original track marked, and seven printable day sheets. Join the free waitlist and you get the one-page overview map with the seven night stops. The app pack follows at launch.
- When does it launch?
- Target is before the spring 2027 season. If it slips, you can take a full refund.
- Is the Route Napoléon pack an app?
- It will be. Reserving now gets you the Route Napoléon pack at launch and helps decide which routes come next.
- I only have a weekend. Is it still worth it?
- Yes. Each day is its own stage, so two days on the route is two stages done, two day bonuses earned, and the rest saved for next time.
- Do I need to hike the Route Napoléon?
- No. You can drive the whole route. The original mule tracks between Grasse and Sisteron are there if you want to walk them.
- How accurate is the 1815 route?
- Each stop is based on documented 1815 accounts. Where a story is local tradition rather than record, we say so.
- Will there be other battlefield walks and commanders?
- Yes. Waterloo is in this pack. Wellington in Portugal and Spain and Richard the Lionheart in France are in research. Tell us who you want next on the waitlist.