Do Good for Good: Berlin Launches BerlinPay on 14 May

Berlin, 13 May 2026 From 14 May to 14 June 2026, visitBerlin is launching BerlinPay, a month-long campaign dedicated to sustainable water tourism. The citywide pilot project is aimed at everyone active on or around Berlin’s waterways – whether visitors or long-time Berliners – under the motto: “Do good for good.”

The concept is simple: anyone who gets involved – for example by helping with planting, watering trees, arriving by bicycle or collecting litter – will be rewarded with benefits ranging from cultural experiences and complimentary drinks to leisure activities on the water. BerlinPay sees tourism not simply as visiting a place, but as actively contributing to the urban experience.

Franziska Giffey, Berlin’s Senator for Economic Affairs, Energy and Public Enterprises, says: “Berlin is Germany’s capital on the water: seven per cent of our city is covered by water, amounting to almost 60 square kilometres. Water tourism in Berlin is booming and represents a significant economic factor, but it also leaves an impact. With the digital Water Atlas, the Month of Water campaign and BerlinPay, we are showing how we can respond to this growing interest in an innovative and sustainable way. The principle is simple: those who do something good for Berlin – by travelling climate-friendly, acting sustainably or helping to keep our city clean – will experience Berlin at its very best in return. In this way, we create real added value for Berliners and visitors alike. Through this pilot project, we want to demonstrate how sustainable tourism in and for Berlin can work in practice.”

“We are delighted to have secured more than 40 partners for the pilot project, all of whom are participating in the initiative with great enthusiasm,” says Sabine Wendt, CEO of visitBerlin. “BerlinPay demonstrates in an innovative way that businesses and organisations are willing to take responsibility for our city. Through this initiative, we invite Berliners and their guests to experience Berlin in a more mindful way – particularly by and on the water.”

Rikke Holm Petersen, Director of Marketing, Communication & Behaviour, Wonderful Copenhagen: “When we launched CopenPay in 2024 as a pioneering pilot, we quickly saw that it tapped into something powerful. Visitors are not only willing—but highly motivated—to give back to the places they visit, and that has inspired us to continue developing the concept and scaling its impact. We believe tourism can be a force for positive change, and we are truly excited to see Berlin take this next step.”

How BerlinPay works
Anyone wishing to participate can now find all offers, dates and conditions at visitBerlin.de/berlinpay. The website explains what type of engagement is required, how participation can be verified on site and what rewards are available. Participation takes place directly through the partners. Altogether, around 5,000 individual activities are part of the BerlinPay programme.

BerlinPay deliberately focuses on activities on and around the water. Forty Berlin-based businesses and organisations are participating with interactive offers ranging from guided clean-up tours on the River Spree and the Landwehr Canal, to tree-watering campaigns along the waterfront, inclusive beach days, walks with a forester, free cultural events by the water and environmental activities at Berlin’s lakeside beaches.

The concept builds on international role models such as Copenhagen’s “CopenPay” and further develops the approach with a strong focus on water. Together with the Senate Department for Economic Affairs, Energy and Public Enterprises and 40 partners, the initiative creates a model project showing how tourism on and around the water can work in harmony with the needs of residents and visitors alike.

Engagement that pays off
BerlinPay rewards responsible behaviour and active participation with a wide range of experiences, including complimentary drinks, free admission to lidos and museums, discounts on creative workshops, vouchers for boat tours on the Spree and participation in paddling or sailing courses.

Examples include: Holzmarkt exchanging handmade flower seed bombs, either handed in or planted on site, for a complimentary drink at the bar. Strandbad Plötzensee rewards active support such as watering plants or assisting people with limited mobility with a free ticket for the next visit as well as complimentary rentals including stand-up paddleboards, parasols or volleyball. 

The art gallery Hosek Contemporary invites visitors arriving by climate-friendly means to free concerts every Wednesday. Participants in visitBerlin’s “Close to the Water” tour can look forward to an invitation to exclusive late-night swimming events at Hotel Oderberger’s historic pool. The Humboldt Forum offers exclusive guided tours and merchandise free of charge when visiting the exhibition On Water. Urban Artists enables visitors arriving sustainably to take part in free waterside art workshops. Those joining a clean-up tour with GoBoat are rewarded with a complimentary boat trip and can later relax with a drink aboard a solar-powered boat. Teamgeist invites sustainably travelling participants to a free dragon boat race on 5 June, including safety workshops hosted by the German Lifesaving Association (DLRG). visitBerlin’s “Close to the Water” tour also offers vouchers for a variety of water experiences across the city, including Hotel Oderberger, the Badeschiff floating pool and sightseeing cruises with BWSG and Stern und Kreisschiffahrt. All BerlinPay partners, activities and rewards can be found at visitBerlin.de/berlinpay.

Insight: Cycle to your next reward with BerlinPay:

Experience nature at Plötzensee Lido with BerlinPay:

More greenery for the Holzmarkt thanks to BerlinPay:

Berlin’s most beautiful waterfront locations in the city’s first digital Water Atlas
Alongside BerlinPay, visitBerlin is also publishing Berlin’s first-ever digital Water Atlas. At launch, the new online map already features more than 215 bathing areas as well as waterside restaurants and accommodation options. Additional information on marinas, boat rentals, moorings, locks, passenger shipping services and ecologically sensitive areas such as protected zones will gradually be added. In the long term, around 800 water tourism locations will be digitally mapped and brought together in one interactive platform.

The Water Atlas offers both visitors and Berliners clear orientation, improves the visibility of existing offers and supports sustainable visitor management on and around the water. The digital Water Atlas is available at visitBerlin.de/gewaesseratlas-berlin.

A comprehensive strategy for sustainable water tourism
BerlinPay and the Water Atlas are part of Berlin’s broader water tourism strategy. The aim is to manage the use of waterways responsibly while improving the experience for both visitors and residents. Berlin is also part of the cross-state initiative “Germany’s Lake District” (Deutschlands Seenland) together with Brandenburg and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, which seeks to strengthen the region as a sustainable and future-oriented destination for water tourism.

All BerlinPay activities and rewards are available at visitBerlin.de/berlinpay

A collection of photos of Berlin's natural surroundings