Escorts in the Jordaan.

Hotels in the Jordaan rarely announce themselves. Most are converted canal houses along the Brouwersgracht, the Bloemgracht and the Prinsengracht, a dozen rooms, steep stairs, staff who make a profession of noticing nothing. It is, frankly, our favourite kind of building: your companion arrives on foot like any dinner guest, and the street has forgotten her before your door closes.

By day the district runs on markets and coffee; by night, on candlelight. The restaurants stay small and the tables sit close, which suits conversation, and the walk back along black water is its own kind of ending. Guests who want louder evenings usually drift one bridge east and return here to sleep.

Seven companions on the roster are Jordaan women. Bianka is the one to walk the Noordermarkt with on a slow afternoon, Sonya, the most seasoned name on our books, treats the district's restaurants as a private dining room, and Tina and Karolina both favour the quieter cafes north of the Westerstraat. Each profile lists verified photographs and the details that actually matter.

If the evening drifts, the rest of the city is close: Amsterdam Centrum starts across the Prinsengracht, and De Pijp with its market streets is a short taxi south. The notice barely changes between them, and the discretion never does, whichever bridge you end up crossing.