The name Cité refers to the fortified boundaries of Paris as they were at the end of antiquity, on the island, and which was the urban nucleus of the medieval city.

Tunnels were later built linking the station to the nearby Prefecture of Police of Paris and the Palais de Justice which were about 100 metres from the current entrance.

[3] Taking the characteristic typography of the comic strip of René Goscinny and Albert Uderzo, Cité is humorously renamed "Lutèce", a French-language form of the name used by the Romans to refer to Paris.

Consisting of a fixed staircase, it is decorated with a Guimard edicule, which is the subject of an inscription under the title of historical monuments by the decree of 25 July 1965.

[5] The old exit, still visible, gave direct access to the police prefecture and the courthouse (Palais de Justice) in the Cour du Mai to the right of the monumental gate as one enters.

As the Paris Métro runs inversely to normal railways in the rest of France, the eastern track is used by trains heading northbound to Porte de Clignancourt and the western southbound to Montrouge.