[1] From Alphen aan den Rijn, where the Gouwe begins, it flows through Boskoop and Waddinxveen to Gouda.

Both branches connect with the Hollandse IJssel on the southern outskirts of Gouda.

[1] The Gouwe was historically part of the primary (and prescribed) shipping-route in Holland, connecting Dordrecht in the south with Haarlem and - later on - with Amsterdam to the north.

At the Oude Rijn, river travel can be continued north over the Aar Canal.

Three striking vertical lift bridges cross the Gouwe at Alphen aan den Rijn, Boskoop, and Waddinxveen.