My husband & I will be in Amsterdam for one night in late October. Arrive at 17:25 and leave the next morning at 8:05. We definitely will stay at a hotel near the airport. I don’t want to spend too much time researching what to do while we are going to be there only for a few hours. Never been to Amsterdam before.

A few questions: assume the weather is still nice, I am sure it is possible to take the train into the city and go for an evening dinner/canal cruise like in Paris. Or go to one of those city guided bus/walking tours at night. How to do this? If it rains, what alternative is available? Any suggestions & ideas are greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

Spliff

You could do a canal boat tour, regardless of the weather. Then have dinner somewhere.

I'm sure it will be completely dark when you arrive (5:30)pm ,and when you leave..end of Oct.

The city center is very close to the airport~~~like 10 minutes by train from the terminals.
I'd see what time it is after you get through customs, check into hotel,...and will you be arriving after a long flight. (they usually arrive in the morning, so perhaps you are "on your way back home" from Europe.)
You could train into the city, walk the streets, have a bite, or as you said take a night boat trip through the canals.

Thanks for the responses. We'll do just that, take a canal cruise and have a nice dinner before heading back to the States. My concern is the pouring rain!

After all the rain we have had this summer there surely can't be any more for October

The canal boats may not be running that late in the evening in October - I advise you to do a Google search on that. Depending on what day you are in Amsterdam there will be different options available. Friday evening is late opening at some museums for instance.
The train takes 20 minutes.
I suggest you try the citizenM hotel at Schiphol itself for a place to stay. Ok it means travelling back out to Schiphol after your visit to the city, but better that than staying in the city and getting to Schiphol for an early check in.

Hi teareavel; If you are looking for a restaurant, try theeboom.com We had dinner there, celebration our 40th anniversary and it was excellent. My husband had arranged a 'special menu' for the 23 people with us. ENJOY Iris

Good correction thanks (that canal boats may not be running that late in the evening).

If you haven't yet seen it and would like to, the Anne Frank House is open until 9:00 PM (until 10:00 PM on Saturdays). I've now been twice in the evening and not encountered any line whatsoever.