Consolidated Statements Of Operations - USD ($) shares in Thousands, $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2013
Revenue
Base rent	$ 1,964,732	$ 1,886,339	$ 1,675,412
Recoveries from tenants	355,508	339,365	292,944
Parking and other	101,981	102,593	97,158
Total rental revenue	2,422,221	2,328,297	2,065,514
Hotel revenue	46,046	43,385	40,330
Development and management services	22,554	25,316	29,695
Total revenue	2,490,821	2,396,998	2,135,539
Expenses
Rental	872,252	835,290	742,956
Hotel	32,084	29,236	28,447
General and administrative	96,319	98,937	115,329
Transaction costs	1,259	3,140	1,744
Impairment loss	0	0	8,306
Depreciation and amortization	639,542	628,573	560,637
Total expenses	1,641,456	1,595,176	1,457,419
Operating income	849,365	801,822	678,120
Other income (expense)
Income from unconsolidated joint ventures	22,770	12,769	75,074
Gains on consolidation of joint ventures	0	0	385,991
Interest and other income	6,777	8,765	8,310
Gains (losses) from investments in securities	(653)	1,038	2,911
Interest expense	(432,196)	(455,743)	(446,880)
(Losses) gains from early extinguishments of debt	(22,040)	(10,633)	122
Income (loss) from continuing operations	424,023	358,018	703,648
Discontinued operations
Income from discontinued operations	0	0	8,022
Gain on sale of real estate from discontinued operations	0	0	112,829
Gain on forgiveness of debt from discontinued operations	0	0	20,182
Impairment loss from discontinued operations	0	0	(3,241)
Income before gains on sales of real estate	424,023	358,018	841,440
Gains on sales of real estate	375,895	168,039	0
Net income (loss)	799,918	526,057	841,440
Net income attributable to noncontrolling interests
Noncontrolling interests in property partnerships	(149,855)	(30,561)	(1,347)
Noncontrolling interest - redeemable preferred units	(6)	(1,023)	(6,046)
Noncontrolling interest - common units of the Operating Partnership	(66,951)	(50,862)	(70,085)
Noncontrolling interest in discontinued operations - common units of the Operating Partnership	0	0	(14,151)
Net income attributable to the Company	583,106	443,611	749,811
Preferred dividends / distributions	(10,500)	(10,500)	(8,057)
Net income attributable to the Company''s common shareholders / unitholders	$ 572,606	$ 433,111	$ 741,754
Basic earnings per common share / unit attributable to the Company
Income from continuing operations (in dollars per share / unit)	$ 3.73	$ 2.83	$ 4.06
Discontinued operations (in dollars per share / unit)	0.00	0.00	0.81
Net income (in dollars per share / unit)	$ 3.73	$ 2.83	$ 4.87
Weighted average number of common shares / units outstanding (in shares / units)	153,471	153,089	152,201
Diluted earnings per common share / unit attributable to the Company
Income from continuing operations (in dollars per share / unit)	$ 3.72	$ 2.83	$ 4.05
Discontinued operations (in dollars per share / unit)	0.00	0.00	0.81
Diluted Earnings: Net income, Per Share / Unit Amount (in dollars per share / unit)	$ 3.72	$ 2.83	$ 4.86
Weighted average number of common and common equivalent shares / units outstanding (in shares / units)	153,844	153,308	152,521
Boston Properties Limited Partnership [Member]
Revenue
Base rent	$ 1,964,732	$ 1,886,339	$ 1,675,412
Recoveries from tenants	355,508	339,365	292,944
Parking and other	101,981	102,593	97,158
Total rental revenue	2,422,221	2,328,297	2,065,514
Hotel revenue	46,046	43,385	40,330
Development and management services	22,554	25,316	29,695
Total revenue	2,490,821	2,396,998	2,135,539
Expenses
Rental	872,252	835,290	742,956
Hotel	32,084	29,236	28,447
General and administrative	96,319	98,937	115,329
Transaction costs	1,259	3,140	1,744
Impairment loss	0	0	4,401
Depreciation and amortization	631,549	620,064	552,589
Total expenses	1,633,463	1,586,667	1,445,466
Operating income	857,358	810,331	690,073
Other income (expense)
Income from unconsolidated joint ventures	22,770	12,769	75,074
Gains on consolidation of joint ventures	0	0	385,991
Interest and other income	6,777	8,765	8,310
Gains (losses) from investments in securities	(653)	1,038	2,911
Interest expense	(432,196)	(455,743)	(446,880)
(Losses) gains from early extinguishments of debt	(22,040)	(10,633)	122
Income (loss) from continuing operations	432,016	366,527	715,601
Discontinued operations
Income from discontinued operations	0	0	8,022
Gain on sale of real estate from discontinued operations	0	0	115,459
Gain on forgiveness of debt from discontinued operations	0	0	20,736
Impairment loss from discontinued operations	0	0	(2,852)
Income before gains on sales of real estate	432,016	366,527	856,966
Gains on sales of real estate	377,093	174,686	0
Net income (loss)	809,109	541,213	856,966
Net income attributable to noncontrolling interests
Noncontrolling interests in property partnerships	(149,855)	(30,561)	(1,347)
Noncontrolling interest - redeemable preferred units	(6)	(1,023)	(6,046)
Net income attributable to the Company	659,248	509,629	849,573
Preferred dividends / distributions	(10,500)	(10,500)	(8,057)
Net income attributable to the Company''s common shareholders / unitholders	$ 648,748	$ 499,129	$ 841,516
Basic earnings per common share / unit attributable to the Company
Income from continuing operations (in dollars per share / unit)	$ 3.79	$ 2.93	$ 4.14
Discontinued operations (in dollars per share / unit)	0.00	0.00	0.83
Net income (in dollars per share / unit)	$ 3.79	$ 2.93	$ 4.97
Weighted average number of common shares / units outstanding (in shares / units)	171,139	170,453	169,126
Diluted earnings per common share / unit attributable to the Company
Income from continuing operations (in dollars per share / unit)	$ 3.78	$ 2.92	$ 4.14
Discontinued operations (in dollars per share / unit)	0.00	0.00	0.83
Diluted Earnings: Net income, Per Share / Unit Amount (in dollars per share / unit)	$ 3.78	$ 2.92	$ 4.97
Weighted average number of common and common equivalent shares / units outstanding (in shares / units)	171,512	170,672	169,446