The station was opened on 7 October 1902 as part of the extension of Line 2 Nord from Étoile to Anvers.
It became simply line 2 on 17 October 1907.
The name of the street derives from Villa Externa (Latin for "external house"), a medieval farm and residence of the Bishop of Paris outside the city, that became the name of the locality, which was originally part of Saint-Denis, then Neuilly, and was finally annexed by Paris in 1860.

The Barrière des Ternes was a gate (also known as the Barrière du Roule) at the same location built for the collection of taxation as part of the Wall of the Farmers-General; the gate was built between 1784 and 1788 and demolished in 1859.

From the 1950s until 2007, the pedestals were covered with metallic camber with blue horizontal uprights and illuminated golden advertising frames, then completed with "shell" seats characteristic of the "Motte" style, in white.

As part of the RATP Renouveau du métro program, the station's corridors were renovated on 21 December 2001, then around 2008, the platforms renovation lead to the removal of their metalwork.

In 2019, 3,329,214 travelers entered this station which placed it at 153th position of metro stations for its usage out of 303 metro stations.
The station was opened on 7 October 1902 as part of the extension of Line 2 Nord from Étoile to Anvers. It became simply line 2 on 17 October 1907. The name of the street derives from Villa Externa (Latin for "external house"), a medieval farm and residence of the Bishop of Paris outside the city, that became the name of the locality, which was originally part of Saint-Denis, then Neuilly, and was finally annexed by Paris in 1860.
The Barrière des Ternes was a gate (also known as the Barrière du Roule) at the same location built for the collection of taxation as part of the Wall of the Farmers-General; the gate was built between 1784 and 1788 and demolished in 1859.
From the 1950s until 2007, the pedestals were covered with metallic camber with blue horizontal uprights and illuminated golden advertising frames, then completed with "shell" seats characteristic of the "Motte" style, in white.
As part of the RATP Renouveau du métro program, the station's corridors were renovated on 21 December 2001, then around 2008, the platforms renovation lead to the removal of their metalwork.
In 2019, 3,329,214 travelers entered this station which placed it at 153th position of metro stations for its usage out of 303 metro stations.
Ternes (Paris Métro)