The building consists of a total of 20 galleries accumulated between 1892 and 1895 through a series of extensions to designs by Vilhelm Dahlerup and Hack Kampmann.

After purchasing Bakkegården and making it his family home, Carl Jacobsen expanded it with a winter garden in 1882.

For many years it was the last stop on guided tours of the brewery but in 1999 Carlsberg opened a new visitor centre elsewhere and on 1 June 2009 the museum closed permanently.

Of particular note is the Empress Gallery which consists of a rotunda featuring four Ionic columns inline with the apse.

The remaining galleries display variations in ornamentation of floors, walls and ceilings and are toplit.