Consolidated Statements Of Operations (USD $) Share data in Thousands, except Per Share data, unless otherwise specified	3 Months Ended		6 Months Ended
	Jun. 30, 2013	Jun. 30, 2012	Jun. 30, 2013	Jun. 30, 2012
Revenue
Base rent	$ 403,942,000	$ 371,019,000	$ 781,670,000	$ 725,844,000
Recoveries from tenants	68,434,000	57,361,000	132,863,000	109,009,000
Parking and other	23,969,000	23,356,000	47,799,000	45,615,000
Total rental revenue	496,345,000	451,736,000	962,332,000	880,468,000
Hotel revenue	11,118,000	10,049,000	19,409,000	16,865,000
Development and management services	7,857,000	9,564,000	16,593,000	17,709,000
Total revenue	515,320,000	471,349,000	998,334,000	915,042,000
Expenses
Rental	179,837,000	161,172,000	352,457,000	317,014,000
Hotel	7,335,000	6,616,000	14,379,000	12,715,000
General and administrative	22,194,000	19,066,000	65,765,000	46,685,000
Transaction costs	535,000	8,000	978,000	2,112,000
Impairment loss	0	0	8,306,000	0
Depreciation and amortization	134,604,000	111,168,000	255,199,000	219,630,000
Total expenses	344,505,000	298,030,000	697,084,000	598,156,000
Operating income	170,815,000	173,319,000	301,250,000	316,886,000
Other income (expense)
Income from unconsolidated joint ventures	48,783,000	21,191,000	57,504,000	32,912,000
Gain on consolidation of joint ventures	387,801,000	0	387,801,000	0
Interest and other income	1,296,000	2,382,000	2,767,000	4,028,000
Gains (losses) from investments in securities	181,000	(186,000)	916,000	615,000
Gains from early extinguishments of debt	152,000	274,000	152,000	1,041,000
Interest expense	(103,140,000)	(99,901,000)	(203,573,000)	(203,138,000)
Income from continuing operations	505,888,000	97,079,000	546,817,000	152,344,000
Discontinued operations
Income from discontinued operations	873,000	218,000	934,000	788,000
Gain on sale of real estate from discontinued operations	0	36,877,000	0	36,877,000
Gain on forgiveness of debt from discontinued operations	0	0	20,182,000	0
Impairment loss from discontinued operations	0	0	(3,241,000)	0
Net income	506,761,000	134,174,000	564,692,000	190,009,000
Net income attributable to noncontrolling interests
Noncontrolling interests in property partnerships	219,000	(457,000)	(2,355,000)	(1,003,000)
Noncontrolling interest - redeemable preferred units of the Operating Partnership	(1,123,000)	(765,000)	(2,303,000)	(1,566,000)
Noncontrolling interest - common units of the Operating Partnership	(50,734,000)	(10,318,000)	(55,277,000)	(16,310,000)
Noncontrolling interest in discontinued operations - common units of the Operating Partnership	(88,000)	(4,075,000)	(1,900,000)	(4,159,000)
Net income attributable to Boston Properties, Inc.	455,035,000	118,559,000	502,857,000	166,971,000
Preferred dividends	(2,618,000)	0	(2,764,000)	0
Net income attributable to Boston Properties, Inc. common shareholders	$ 452,417,000	$ 118,559,000	$ 500,093,000	$ 166,971,000
Basic earnings per common share attributable to Boston Properties, Inc.:
Income from continuing operations (in dollars per share)	$ 2.94	$ 0.57	$ 3.17	$ 0.89
Discontinued operations (in dollars per share)	$ 0.01	$ 0.22	$ 0.10	$ 0.23
Net income (in dollars per share)	$ 2.95	$ 0.79	$ 3.27	$ 1.12
Weighted average number of common shares outstanding (in shares)	151,938	150,312	151,793	149,328
Diluted earnings per common share attributable to Boston Properties, Inc.:
Income from continuing operations (in dollars per share)	$ 2.93	$ 0.56	$ 3.16	$ 0.89
Discontinued operations (in dollars per share)	$ 0.01	$ 0.22	$ 0.10	$ 0.23
Diluted Earnings: Net income, Per Share Amount (in dollars per share)	$ 2.94	$ 0.78	$ 3.26	$ 1.12
Weighted average number of common and common equivalent shares outstanding (in shares)	152,490	150,694	152,222	149,720