Document And Entity Information - shares	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2017	Apr. 28, 2017
Document And Entity Information [Abstract]
Document Type	10-Q
Amendment Flag	false
Document Period End Date	Mar. 31, 2017
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q1
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2017
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)		128,388,696