The Line 5 station hall, "probably the most atypical of the Paris Métro", is open to the exterior though under the roof of the mainline Gare d'Austerlitz and forms part of a sinuous elevated section which has been "considered an exceptional work of urban railway insertion".

It was the northern terminus of the line until it was extended to Quai de la Rapée (then called Place Mazas) on 13 July 1906.

The station was originally named the Gare d'Orléans after the main station of the Chemin de Fer de Paris à Orléans company, which had opened a line from Paris to the south, via Orléans.

The metro station was renamed Gare d'Orléans-Austerlitz on 15 October 1930 and with its current name on 25 April 1985.

In addition, it is served at night by Lines N01, N02, N31, N131 and N133 of the Noctilien bus network.