Slim and slender companions for evenings under a roof or under the sky

Liana begins beneath the timber lattice of the Crossrail Place roof garden, then moves on to a quiet French dinner nearby. She is gentle and fluent, and happiest on a weeknight booked a day ahead. Samanta prefers the domed bar at Ten Trinity Square near Tower Bridge, a very cold martini, and a dinner plan confirmed by three in the afternoon.

Margo takes the window table upstairs at The Grapes on Narrow Street and lets a long evening settle; she is the name to ask for an overnight. Vanessa, hazel-eyed with a sandy balayage and a new word learned every day, meets ExCeL guests on board Sunborn, the floating hotel across the water from the halls, once the day closes. Karolina starts inside Hawksmoor's church in Limehouse, then leads the way to supper beside a river window, talking architecture only when asked.

Cindy wants daylight: dinghies on Millwall Dock, a film camera, the towers turning orange at sunset. Lucy leads the way from Island Gardens through the foot tunnel to Greenwich and, on a clear night, finds a planet before the first drink. Stacy follows a late comedy bill with a camera walk past the Cutty Sark.

Patricia sits out on a riverside terrace in Wapping with a pocket paint box. Violetta, a long-distance swimmer, closes her Greenwich dinner with an unhurried walk beside the Old Royal Naval College.

Outdoor evenings run on daylight. In June the sky over the Isle of Dogs stays bright until well after nine, so Cindy's sunset booking can begin late in the afternoon; in December it is dark before five, and her start moves to lunchtime. Lucy's planets need a clear night, which nobody can promise, so she always keeps a warm alternative in Greenwich. Patricia paints only when the river has some light on it, and happily swaps the terrace for a window seat when it has none.

Plans under the sky come with a fallback. Tell the desk when you book whether rain would spoil it, and Philippa suggests a covered version, or a companion from the first group, before anything is confirmed. Nothing is lost by asking, and nothing is charged for changing a plan in good time.

Four of these ten, Karolina, Margo, Patricia and Vanessa, feature on the ExCeL weeks and weekends itinerary for guests staying several nights. Six share the statuesque floor, and the toned and athletic floor is the next stop if an active evening appeals. Every length sits on one ladder, from £250 an hour, shown on the rates page.