Document And Entity Information - shares	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2016	Apr. 30, 2016
Document And Entity Information [Abstract]
Document Type	10-Q
Amendment Flag	false
Document Period End Date	Mar. 31, 2016
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q1
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2016
Entity Registrant Name	WEINGARTEN REALTY INVESTORS /TX/
Entity Central Index Key	0000828916
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Filer Category	Large Accelerated Filer
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		125,481,807