Document And Entity Information - shares	6 Months Ended
	Jun. 30, 2016	Jul. 28, 2016
Document And Entity Information [Abstract]
Document Type	10-Q
Amendment Flag	false
Document Period End Date	Jun. 30, 2016
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q2
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 (in shares)		127,832,375