Consolidated Balance Sheets (Parenthetical) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Mar. 31, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018
Excess stock, par value	$ 0.01	$ 0.01
Excess stock, shares authorized	150,000,000	150,000,000
Excess stock, shares issued	0	0
Excess stock, shares outstanding	0	0
Preferred stock, par value	$ 0.01	$ 0.01
Preferred stock, shares authorized	50,000,000	50,000,000
Common stock, par value	$ 0.01	$ 0.01
Common stock, shares authorized	250,000,000	250,000,000
Common stock, shares issued	154,594,386	154,537,378
Common stock, shares outstanding	154,515,486	154,458,478
Treasury common stock at cost, shares	78,900	78,900
General Partners' Capital Account, Units Outstanding	1,725,484
Limited Partners' Capital Account, Units Outstanding	152,790,002
Real Estate Investment Property, at Cost	$ 21,741,265	$ 21,649,896
Right of use assets - finance leases (amount related to VIEs of $21,000 at March 31, 2019)	187,292	0
Accumulated depreciation	(4,962,959)	(4,897,777)
Cash and Cash Equivalents	360,091	543,359
Tenant and other receivables	92,462	86,629
Accrued rental income	954,063	934,896
Deferred Charges, net	666,320	678,724
Prepaid expense and other assets	131,472	80,943
Mortgage notes payable, net	2,959,908	2,964,572
Lease liabilities - finance leases	173,123	0
Accounts payable and accrued expenses	328,885	276,645
Accrued interest payable	89,171	89,267
Other Liabilities	$ 369,575	$ 503,726
Series B Cumulative Redeemable Preferred Stock [Member]
Preferred stock, par value	$ 0.01	$ 0.01
Preferred stock, shares authorized	92,000	92,000
Series B Dividend Rate Percentage	5.25%	5.25%
Series B, Liquidation Preference Per Share (dollars per share)	$ 2,500.00	$ 2,500
Series B, shares issued	80,000	80,000
Series B, Shares Outstanding (in shares)	80,000	80,000
Boston Properties Limited Partnership
NonControlling Interest Redeemable Partnership Units Common Units Shares Outstanding	16,844,947	16,783,558
NonControlling Interest Redeemable Partnership Units Common Units Long Term Incentive Units At Redemption Value Shares Outstanding	1,187,919	991,577
General Partners' Capital Account, Units Outstanding	1,725,484	1,722,336
Limited Partners' Capital Account, Units Outstanding	152,790,002	152,736,142
Real Estate Investment Property, at Cost	$ 21,345,264	$ 21,251,540
Right of use assets - finance leases (amount related to VIEs of $21,000 at March 31, 2019)	187,292	0
Accumulated depreciation	(4,864,334)	(4,800,475)
Cash and Cash Equivalents	360,091	543,359
Tenant and other receivables	92,462	86,629
Accrued rental income	954,063	934,896
Deferred Charges, net	666,320	678,724
Prepaid expense and other assets	131,472	80,943
Mortgage notes payable, net	2,959,908	2,964,572
Lease liabilities - finance leases	173,123	0
Accounts payable and accrued expenses	328,885	276,645
Accrued interest payable	89,171	89,267
Other Liabilities	$ 369,575	$ 503,726
Boston Properties Limited Partnership | Series B Cumulative Redeemable Preferred Stock [Member]
Series B Dividend Rate Percentage	5.25%	5.25%
Series B, Liquidation Preference Per Share (dollars per share)	$ 2,500	$ 2,500
Series B, shares issued	80,000	80,000
Series B, Shares Outstanding (in shares)	80,000	80,000
VIE
Real Estate Investment Property, at Cost	$ 7,511,727	$ 7,481,015
Right of use assets - finance leases (amount related to VIEs of $21,000 at March 31, 2019)	21,000
Accumulated depreciation	(999,691)	(965,500)
Cash and Cash Equivalents	254,299	296,806
Tenant and other receivables	15,782	15,519
Accrued rental income	280,952	272,466
Deferred Charges, net	254,172	263,402
Prepaid expense and other assets	56,027	26,513
Mortgage notes payable, net	2,926,760	2,929,326
Lease liabilities - finance leases	20,067
Accounts payable and accrued expenses	79,984	75,786
Other Liabilities	182,729	200,344
VIE | Boston Properties Limited Partnership
Real Estate Investment Property, at Cost	7,511,727	7,481,015
Right of use assets - finance leases (amount related to VIEs of $21,000 at March 31, 2019)	21,000
Accumulated depreciation	(999,691)	(965,500)
Cash and Cash Equivalents	254,299	296,806
Tenant and other receivables	15,782	15,519
Accrued rental income	280,952	272,466
Deferred Charges, net	254,172	263,402
Prepaid expense and other assets	56,027	26,513
Mortgage notes payable, net	2,926,760	2,929,326
Lease liabilities - finance leases	20,067
Accounts payable and accrued expenses	79,984	75,786
Accrued interest payable
Other Liabilities	$ 182,729	$ 200,344