Travelling to Copenhagen with Heidi Amsinck

Travelling to Copenhagen with Heidi Amsinck

My Jensen series, featuring crime reporter Jensen and her motley crew of helpers, is set in Copenhagen where I was born and once trained as journalist. I never need an excuse to go back but writing the Jensen mysteries has made for a wonderful trip down memory lane. Setting is always extremely important to me and for each book I spend a lot of time walking through my chosen area, taking photos and noticing new details. Copenhagen is so easy to get around, on foot or by metro. It’s pretty, particularly in summer, and I love contrasting that with criminally dark tales. What can I say, I’m a crime writer, so that’s just how my mind works! My latest outings for Jensen are Back from the Dead (Jensen 3) and Out of the Dark (Jensen 4), with a fifth instalment, The Woman in the Wall, out 23 April 2026.

Visit the locations of Back from the Dead (Jensen 3)

Copenhagen Opera House

Copenhagen Opera House

Back from the Dead starts with a rather gristly find. Detective Inspector Henrik Jungersen is watching from the quay by the opera (he likens it to a spaceship) as a headless corpse is pulled from the harbour. The city is in the grip of an extraordinary heatwave, and hot and sweaty Henrik is exasperated with the band of rubberneckers who have gathered behind him.

The opera quay with its spectacular view towards Amalienborg Castle and the Marble Church is a popular spot for weekend strolls. I particularly love the opera lobby with its spectacular spherical chandeliers created by the Icelandic artist Olafur Eliasson.

Christianshavn Canal

Christianshavn Canal

The body in the harbour was first spotted by pensioner Jørgen who keeps a boat in the gorgeous Christianshavn Canal. This is where I would live if I was ever to move back home. Lined with cobbled streets and colourful townhouses, it’s full of interesting little shops, cafés and restaurants. You can also access the old ramparts from here, a great area for a walk or a run.

Copenhagen Harbour

Copenhagen Harbour

Jensen and her apprentice Gustav persuade Jørgen to take them out on his boat and show them where he found the body. For my research, I got a friend to take me, following the exact same route from Christianshavn Canal and into the open harbour. I would recommend to everyone visiting Copenhagen to hop on one of the many harbour tour boats available. It’s a great way of seeing the city, particularly on a sunny day.

Nordhavn

In Back from the Dead Jensen is living with her boyfriend, the entrepreneur Kristoffer Bro, who has a swanky apartment in the Nordhavn district, where a large chunk of the action happens. Once an industrial port area, Nordhavn has evolved into a sought-after residential neighbourhood with some impressive architecture. Get there on a harbour tour, or on the metro from the city centre.

Church of Our Saviour

Church of Our Saviour

No plot spoilers but the action in Back from the Dead also takes us back to Jensen’s old flat in Christianshavn where she can see the famous Church of Our Saviour with its helter-skelter spire from her window. If you’re good with heights you can climb to the top of the tower. You’ll be rewarded with a great view of Copenhagen.

Visit the locations of Out of the Dark (Jensen 4)

Ørstedsparken

Ørstedsparken

Out of the Dark starts in Ørstedsparken where 9-year-old Matilde Clausen goes missing from a playground. Quite how this happened without anyone seeing it is a mystery to Detective Henrik Jungersen as the park is close to a busy metro station and shops and restaurants. Laid out on the grounds of Copenhagen’s old fortifications in the late 1800s, it’s one of my favourite green spaces in the city, a tranquil oasis away from the hustle and bustle.

The Lakes

A short walk from Ørstedsparken is the beautiful district known as ‘The Lakes’ or ‘Søerne’ in Danish. The three oblong lakes lined with gravel paths form the western edge of Copenhagen’s inner city. In Out of the Dark, Jensen is contacted by Bodil La Cour, an elderly resident who says she saw a young woman being attacked outside her apartment. No one except Jensen believes Bodil, whose story will turn out to have significant implications.

Copenhagen Central Station

Copenhagen Central Station

Denmark’s busiest railway hub features often in the Jensen series. In Out of the Dark, Jensen travels through the station on her way to a crucial interview. Situated just opposite Tivoli, the old fun fair, it’s where you catch trains to Sweden, Germany and the rest of Denmark. Just entering the building always evokes a multitude of memories in me, of days out in Copenhagen when visiting my grandparents as a child.

Christiansborg

Christiansborg, also known as ‘Borgen’ of TV-series fame was once a royal palace but is now home to the Danish parliament. While driving past the building, Jensen spots Gustav loitering when he should have been at school. It’s also where Jensen’s friend, the MP Esben Nørregaard, works (loyal readers may remember the debonair Esben from the previous books in the series). You can visit the state rooms, some of which are still used for events by the Danish royal family.

Christianshavn

Christianshavn

In Out of the Dark, Jensen is no longer living in Christianshavn, for reasons that were made obvious in book 3, Back from the Dead, but when DI Henrik Jungersen, her former lover, asks to see her, she suggests meeting in one of her old haunts, a café with a view of the canal. Whenever I am visiting, this is where I love going for brunch with friends.

Thank you Heidi!

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