Escort Zuidas, tailored for the business quarter

Of the districts without resident companions, Zuidas is among the quickest to reach. Companions from Oud-Zuid come down the Beethovenstraat in minutes, and those in De Pijp are a short metro ride away by way of Europaplein. Arrival within the hour is the norm, and often well before. The exception is the close of a large congress at the RAI, when taxis and traffic gather around the convention centre; on those evenings, write a little earlier. Towers with card-controlled lifts need a clear plan, so say whether she should come to reception or whether you will collect her in the lobby.

Evenings here tend to begin with a change of pace. A drink at the hotel bar once the laptop is closed, dinner at one of the restaurants around the station, a walk through the Beatrixpark while the office lights go out one floor at a time. For something more ceremonial, the Concertgebouw is a short ride north. Samanta, composed and magnetic, has a real fondness for design hotels and for the precise, understated manners of a business quarter. Margo, refined and quietly mysterious, will notice the contemporary art in the lobby before you do. Violetta, elegant and confident, carries a formal dinner and a late conversation with the same composure.

In Zuidas, the building matters as much as the street. Many towers along the Gustav Mahlerlaan look alike after dark, and hotels near the RAI are easily confused with one another. Name the hotel or the residential tower, give the entrance and, for an apartment, the floor and the name on the intercom. If a meeting runs over, write before she sets off; the coordinator will see whether the hour can move, once, if her schedule allows, and the reservation and any deposit stand.

Zuidas has more character than its skyline suggests. ArtZuid, the outdoor sculpture route, places large works along the Apollolaan and the Minervalaan in the summers it is held, and permanent pieces stand between the towers year round. The Beatrixpark, next to the RAI, has a walled garden and quiet lawns, and the Olympic Stadium of 1928, a short walk west, still holds events beneath its slender brick tower.

To the south lies the Amsterdamse Bos, a planted forest three times the size of Central Park, with a rowing course, woodland paths and an open-air theatre in summer. For a guest with a spare hour after meetings, it is the quickest escape from the city's glass and steel.

Amsterdam Zuid station is the heart of the district. Trains reach Schiphol in under ten minutes, and there are direct connections to Utrecht, Den Haag and Rotterdam without passing through the centre. The Noord/Zuid metro runs from Zuid to De Pijp and Centraal, and trams connect the district to Museumplein. A taxi from the airport takes about fifteen minutes when the ring road is clear.

For your companion, the neighbouring districts are close, so an evening can begin shortly after a meeting ends. Tell the house the tower or hotel and the moment your diary clears, and she arrives when you are ready rather than in the middle of a call.

Oud-Zuid begins where the towers end, and Schiphol is a single short train ride from Amsterdam Zuid, which makes an evening here easy to combine with an early flight. See how reservations work for each step.