Gare d'Austerlitz (Paris Métro)

Gare d'Austerlitz is a station on the Paris Métro, serving line 5 and forming the eastern terminus of line 10 in the 5th and the 13th arrondissements. The Line 5 station is open to the exterior though under the roof of the mainline Gare d'Austerlitz. Leaving this station to cross the Seine, Line 5 goes into a pronounced drop and curve known as le toboggan ("the slide").

The station was opened on 26 April 1931 with the opening of the original section of line 5 between Place d'Italie and Gare d'Orléans, as Gare d'Austerlitz was then known. 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 line 10 platforms opened on 12 July 1939 when the line was extended from Jussieu. 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. These name changes reflect the changes in the name of the mainline station, which was renamed after the local district, Austerlitz, which is named after the Battle of Austerlitz, the most decisive French victory in the Napoleonic Wars.