Equity - Shares and Units (Details)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2020 shares	May 16, 2019 shares
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]
OP Unit redemption for cash term (in years)	1 year
OP Unit exchange ratio to common stock	1
Percentage of dividends on common stock received until performance criteria met for LTIP units	10.00%
Percentage of dividends on common stock received after performance criteria met for LTIP units	90.00%
Percentage of dividends on common stock received in periods after performance criteria met for LTIP units	100.00%
OP units outstanding (shares)	285,300,000
OP units owned by the Company (in shares)	171,600,000
OP units not owned by the Company (in shares)	113,700,000
Empire State Realty OP | Empire State Realty Trust
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]
OP units owned by the Company, percent	60.10%
Empire State Realty OP | Other partners, certain directors, officers and other members of executive management
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]
OP units not owned by the Company, percent	39.90%
2019 Plan
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]
Number of shares authorized under the plan (in shares)	11,000,000.0	11,000,000.0