Does the River Thames Flow Through Cambridge?

No, the River Thames does not run through Cambridge. It flows through Oxford (where it's sometimes called the Isis), about 55 miles (88 km) west of Cambridge.

The river that flows through Cambridge is the River Cam (the town's name derives from "Cam-bridge"). The Cam is a tributary of the River Great Ouse, which empties into the North Sea at King's Lynn—an entirely separate watershed from the Thames, which drains into the North Sea via the Thames Estuary near London.

Punting on the Cam past the college "Backs" is a quintessential Cambridge experience; the Thames offers its own charms, but in a different city.