Earnings Per Common Unit (Details) (USD $) In Thousands, except Share data, unless otherwise specified	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2013	Sep. 30, 2012	Sep. 30, 2013	Sep. 30, 2012
Earnings Per Share [Abstract]
Redeemable common units (in shares)	16,829,000	17,660,000	16,975,000	17,694,000
Basic Earnings:
Income from continuing operations attributable to Boston Properties Limited Partnership, Income (Numerator)	$ 84,497	$ 64,684	$ 628,206	$ 215,296
Net income attributable to Boston Properties Limited Partnership, Units (Denominator) (in shares)	169,236,000	168,461,000	168,975,000	167,517,000
Inceom (loss) from continuing operations before discontinued operations and allocation of undistributed earnings (dollars per share)	$ 0.50		$ 3.72
Discontinued operations attributable to Boston Properties Limited Partnership, Income (Numerator)	89,643	1,550	112,046	44,041
Discontinued operations attributable to Boston Properties Limited Partnership, Per Unit Amount (in dollars per share)	$ 0.53	$ 0.01	$ 0.66	$ 0.26
Net income attributable to Boston Properties Limited Partnership	174,140	66,234	740,252	259,337
Allocation of undistributed earnings to participating securities (numerator)	(651)		(4,183)
Allocation of undistributed earnings to participating securities (in dollars per shares)	$ 0		$ (0.02)
Net income attributable to Boston Properties Limited Partnership	173,489		736,069
Net income (in dollars per share)	$ 1.03	$ 0.39	$ 4.36	$ 1.55
Effect of Dilutive Securities:
Stock Based Compensation and Exchangeable Senior Notes, Income (Numerator)	0	0	0	0
Stock Based Compensation and Exchangeable Senior Notes, Units (Denominator) (in shares)	285,000	1,182,000	381,000	655,000
Stock Based Compensation and Exchangeable Senior Notes, Per Unit Amount (in dollars per share)	$ (0.01)	$ 0.00	$ (0.01)	$ (0.01)
Diluted Earnings:
Diluted Earnings: Net income attributable to Boston Properties Limited Partnership	$ 173,489	$ 66,234	$ 736,069	$ 259,337
Diluted Earnings: Net income, Units (Denominator) (in shares)	169,521,000	169,643,000	169,356,000	168,172,000
Diluted Earnings: Net income, Per Unit Amount (in dollars per share)	$ 1.02	$ 0.39	$ 4.35	$ 1.54