Document and Entity Information - USD ($)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2016	Feb. 21, 2017	Jun. 30, 2016
Entity Registrant Name	Empire State Realty Trust, Inc.
Entity Central Index Key	0001541401
Document Type	10-K
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Amendment Flag	false
Document Period End Date	Dec. 31, 2016
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2016
Document Fiscal Period Focus	FY
Entity Filer Category	Large Accelerated Filer
Entity Well-known Seasoned Issuer	Yes
Entity Voluntary Filers	No
Entity Current Reporting Status	Yes
Common Class A [Member]
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		155,451,733
Entity Public Float			$ 2,331,614,000
Common Class B [Member]
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		1,095,737