Segment Information (Details) (USD $) In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	3 Months Ended								12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2012	Sep. 30, 2012	Jun. 30, 2012	Mar. 31, 2012	Dec. 31, 2011	Sep. 30, 2011	Jun. 30, 2011	Mar. 31, 2011	Dec. 31, 2012	Dec. 31, 2011	Dec. 31, 2010	Dec. 31, 2009
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Property rentals									$ 1,962,545	$ 2,012,292	$ 1,957,130
Straight-line rent adjustments									68,844	39,858	70,972
Amortization of acquired below-market leases, net									54,193	62,105	65,373
Total rentals									2,085,582	2,114,255	2,093,475
Tenant expense reimbursements									301,092	314,752	317,777
Cleveland Medical Mart development project									235,234	154,080	0
BMS cleaning fees									67,584	61,754	58,053
Signage Revenue									20,892	19,823	18,618
Management and leasing fees									21,867	21,801	21,686
Lease termination fees									2,361	16,334	14,818
Other income									31,845	30,037	33,780
Total revenues	697,654	710,538	683,985	674,280	689,959	689,190	679,084	674,603	2,766,457	2,732,836	2,558,207
Operating expenses									1,021,719	995,586	983,424
Depreciation and amortization									517,811	524,550	494,898
General and administrative									201,894	208,008	211,399
Cleveland Medical Mart development project									226,619	145,824	0
Impairment losses, acquisition related costs and tenant buy-outs									120,786	35,299	109,458
Total expenses									2,088,829	1,909,267	1,799,179
Operating income									677,628	823,569	759,028
Income from partially owned entities									423,126	118,612	92,493
Income from real estate fund									63,936	22,886	(303)
Interest and other investment (loss) income, net									(260,945)	148,784	235,267
Interest and debt expense									(500,361)	(526,175)	(539,370)
Net gain on extinguishment of debt									0	0	94,789
Net gain on disposition of wholly owned and partially owned assets other than depreciable real estate									13,347	15,134	81,432
Income before income taxes									416,731	602,810	723,336
Income tax expense									(8,132)	(23,925)	(22,137)
Income from continuing operations									408,599	578,885	701,199
Income from discontinued operations									285,942	161,115	6,832
Net income									694,541	740,000	708,031
Consolidated subsidiaries									(32,018)	(21,786)	(4,920)
Operating Partnership									(35,327)	(41,059)	(44,033)
Preferred unit distributions of the Operating Partnership									(9,936)	(14,853)	(11,195)
Net income (loss) attributable to Vornado									617,260	662,302	647,883
Interest and debt expense (2)									760,523	797,920	828,082
Depreciation and amortization (2)									735,293	777,421	729,426
Income tax (benefit) expense (2)									7,026	4,812	(23,036)
EBITDA									2,120,102	2,242,455	2,182,355
Real estate at cost	18,495,359				16,703,757				18,495,359	16,703,757	16,454,967	16,344,244
Investments in partially owned entities	1,704,297				1,740,459				1,704,297	1,740,459	1,375,006
Total assets	21,965,975				20,446,487				21,965,975	20,446,487	20,517,471
Toys R Us [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Income from partially owned entities									14,859	48,540	71,624
Investments in partially owned entities	478,041				506,809				478,041	506,809
All Equity Method Investees Excluding Toys [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Income from partially owned entities									408,267	70,072	20,869
Investments in partially owned entities	1,226,256				1,233,650				1,226,256	1,233,650
New York Segment [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Property rentals									1,004,078	979,032	944,322
Straight-line rent adjustments									52,117	34,446	51,385
Amortization of acquired below-market leases, net									31,552	40,958	44,879
Total rentals									1,087,747	1,054,436	1,040,586
Tenant expense reimbursements									160,133	165,433	159,369
Cleveland Medical Mart development project										0
BMS cleaning fees									94,965	90,033	84,945
Signage Revenue									20,892	19,823	18,618
Management and leasing fees									5,639	5,095	4,427
Lease termination fees									1,136	11,839	7,470
Other income									4,472	6,457	6,051
Total revenues									1,374,984	1,353,116	1,321,466
Operating expenses									602,883	578,344	556,270
Depreciation and amortization									226,653	221,520	212,903
General and administrative									30,053	26,808	25,560
Cleveland Medical Mart development project										0
Impairment losses, acquisition related costs and tenant buy-outs									0	23,777	1,605
Total expenses									859,589	850,449	796,338
Operating income									515,395	502,667	525,128
Income from partially owned entities									207,773	12,062	13,317
Income from real estate fund										0
Interest and other investment (loss) income, net									4,230	4,245	4,237
Interest and debt expense									(147,132)	(152,386)	(145,406)
Net gain on extinguishment of debt											0
Net gain on disposition of wholly owned and partially owned assets other than depreciable real estate									0	0	0
Income before income taxes									580,266	366,588	397,276
Income tax expense									(3,491)	(2,084)	(2,167)
Income from continuing operations									576,775	364,504	395,109
Income from discontinued operations									(641)	563	168
Net income									576,134	365,067	395,277
Consolidated subsidiaries									(2,138)	(10,042)	(9,559)
Operating Partnership									0	0	0
Preferred unit distributions of the Operating Partnership									0	0	0
Net income (loss) attributable to Vornado									573,996	355,025	385,718
Interest and debt expense (2)									187,855	181,740	158,249
Depreciation and amortization (2)									252,257	247,630	218,766
Income tax (benefit) expense (2)									3,751	2,170	1,311
EBITDA									1,017,859	786,565	764,044
Real estate at cost	8,915,981				7,070,026				8,915,981	7,070,026	6,999,784
Investments in partially owned entities	576,336				536,393				576,336	536,393	273,536
Total assets	9,116,364				7,130,240				9,116,364	7,130,240	6,611,632
New York Segment [Member] | All Equity Method Investees Excluding Toys [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Income from partially owned entities									207,773	12,062	13,317
Washington DC Segment [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Property rentals									467,972	531,510	536,947
Straight-line rent adjustments									5,727	(2,569)	6,089
Amortization of acquired below-market leases, net									2,043	2,160	2,453
Total rentals									475,742	531,101	545,489
Tenant expense reimbursements									40,742	36,299	49,792
Cleveland Medical Mart development project										0
BMS cleaning fees									0	0	0
Signage Revenue									0	0	0
Management and leasing fees									12,775	12,361	15,934
Lease termination fees									643	3,794	1,148
Other income									24,126	19,762	20,594
Total revenues									554,028	603,317	632,957
Operating expenses									194,523	188,744	202,569
Depreciation and amortization									138,296	154,142	136,391
General and administrative									27,237	26,369	25,454
Cleveland Medical Mart development project										0
Impairment losses, acquisition related costs and tenant buy-outs									0	0	0
Total expenses									360,056	369,255	364,414
Operating income									193,972	234,062	268,543
Income from partially owned entities									(5,612)	(6,381)	(564)
Income from real estate fund										0
Interest and other investment (loss) income, net									126	199	154
Interest and debt expense									(115,574)	(115,456)	(125,272)
Net gain on extinguishment of debt											0
Net gain on disposition of wholly owned and partially owned assets other than depreciable real estate									0	0	54,742
Income before income taxes									72,912	112,424	197,603
Income tax expense									(1,650)	(2,690)	(1,679)
Income from continuing operations									71,262	109,734	195,924
Income from discontinued operations									167,766	52,390	4,143
Net income									239,028	162,124	200,067
Consolidated subsidiaries									0	0	0
Operating Partnership									0	0	0
Preferred unit distributions of the Operating Partnership									0	0	0
Net income (loss) attributable to Vornado									239,028	162,124	200,067
Interest and debt expense (2)									133,625	134,270	136,174
Depreciation and amortization (2)									157,816	181,560	159,283
Income tax (benefit) expense (2)									1,943	3,123	2,027
EBITDA									532,412	481,077	497,551
Real estate at cost	4,171,879				4,176,894				4,171,879	4,176,894	4,040,491
Investments in partially owned entities	95,670				113,536				95,670	113,536	149,295
Total assets	4,196,694				4,150,140				4,196,694	4,150,140	3,872,209
Washington DC Segment [Member] | All Equity Method Investees Excluding Toys [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Income from partially owned entities									(5,612)	(6,381)	(564)
Retail Properties Segment [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Property rentals									276,190	274,386	256,654
Straight-line rent adjustments									9,379	6,723	9,401
Amortization of acquired below-market leases, net									14,902	13,969	12,384
Total rentals									300,471	295,078	278,439
Tenant expense reimbursements									88,545	96,805	93,032
Cleveland Medical Mart development project										0
BMS cleaning fees									0	0	0
Signage Revenue									0	0	0
Management and leasing fees									3,131	3,990	1,820
Lease termination fees									74	467	4,441
Other income									1,778	1,862	927
Total revenues									393,999	398,202	378,659
Operating expenses									141,732	133,403	141,116
Depreciation and amortization									76,835	77,433	71,556
General and administrative									23,654	25,489	27,676
Cleveland Medical Mart development project										0
Impairment losses, acquisition related costs and tenant buy-outs									103,400	369	70,895
Total expenses									345,621	236,694	311,243
Operating income									48,378	161,508	67,416
Income from partially owned entities									1,458	2,700	8,220
Income from real estate fund										0
Interest and other investment (loss) income, net									27	(32)	164
Interest and debt expense									(62,923)	(70,952)	(63,265)
Net gain on extinguishment of debt											105,571
Net gain on disposition of wholly owned and partially owned assets other than depreciable real estate									8,491	4,278	0
Income before income taxes									(4,569)	97,502	118,106
Income tax expense									0	(34)	(37)
Income from continuing operations									(4,569)	97,468	118,069
Income from discontinued operations									42,926	31,815	19,061
Net income									38,357	129,283	137,130
Consolidated subsidiaries									1,812	237	(778)
Operating Partnership									0	0	0
Preferred unit distributions of the Operating Partnership									0	0	0
Net income (loss) attributable to Vornado									40,169	129,520	136,352
Interest and debt expense (2)									73,828	82,608	79,545
Depreciation and amortization (2)									86,529	91,040	86,629
Income tax (benefit) expense (2)									0	34	37
EBITDA									200,526	303,202	302,563
Real estate at cost	3,009,816				3,102,983				3,009,816	3,102,983	3,076,114
Investments in partially owned entities	7,083				7,747				7,083	7,747	6,251
Total assets	3,589,633				3,748,303				3,589,633	3,748,303	3,591,244
Retail Properties Segment [Member] | All Equity Method Investees Excluding Toys [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Income from partially owned entities									1,458	2,700	8,220
Merchandise Mart Segment [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Property rentals									125,018	136,404	132,120
Straight-line rent adjustments									763	(1,284)	301
Amortization of acquired below-market leases, net									0	0	0
Total rentals									125,781	135,120	132,421
Tenant expense reimbursements									4,343	6,321	5,274
Cleveland Medical Mart development project									235,234	154,080
BMS cleaning fees									0	0	0
Signage Revenue									0	0	0
Management and leasing fees									231	342	156
Lease termination fees									508	234	459
Other income									1,574	2,218	3,068
Total revenues									367,671	298,315	141,378
Operating expenses									65,337	77,492	65,842
Depreciation and amortization									33,778	28,804	28,416
General and administrative									18,899	28,040	24,199
Cleveland Medical Mart development project									226,619	145,824
Impairment losses, acquisition related costs and tenant buy-outs									0	5,228	0
Total expenses									344,633	285,388	118,457
Operating income									23,038	12,927	22,921
Income from partially owned entities									729	455	(179)
Income from real estate fund										0
Interest and other investment (loss) income, net									0	1	3
Interest and debt expense									(31,393)	(31,208)	(31,208)
Net gain on extinguishment of debt											0
Net gain on disposition of wholly owned and partially owned assets other than depreciable real estate									0	0	765
Income before income taxes									(7,626)	(17,825)	(7,698)
Income tax expense									(502)	(1,572)	29
Income from continuing operations									(8,128)	(19,397)	(7,669)
Income from discontinued operations									75,144	72,971	(20,948)
Net income									67,016	53,574	(28,617)
Consolidated subsidiaries									0	0	0
Operating Partnership									0	0	0
Preferred unit distributions of the Operating Partnership									0	0	0
Net income (loss) attributable to Vornado									67,016	53,574	(28,617)
Interest and debt expense (2)									35,423	40,916	61,379
Depreciation and amortization (2)									39,596	46,725	51,064
Income tax (benefit) expense (2)									12,503	2,237	232
EBITDA									154,538	143,452	84,058
Real estate at cost	772,372				746,498				772,372	746,498	741,188
Investments in partially owned entities	3,567				3,589				3,567	3,589	4,183
Total assets	1,246,975				1,226,084				1,246,975	1,226,084	1,435,714
Merchandise Mart Segment [Member] | All Equity Method Investees Excluding Toys [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Income from partially owned entities									729	455	(179)
Toys R Us Segment [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Total expenses									0
Income from partially owned entities									14,859	48,540	71,624
Income before income taxes									14,859	48,540	71,624
Income from continuing operations									14,859	48,540	71,624
Net income									14,859	48,540	71,624
Net income (loss) attributable to Vornado									14,859	48,540	71,624
Interest and debt expense (2)									147,880	157,135	177,272
Depreciation and amortization (2)									135,179	134,967	131,284
Income tax (benefit) expense (2)									(16,629)	(1,132)	(45,418)
EBITDA									281,289	339,510	334,762
Real estate at cost	0				0				0	0	0
Investments in partially owned entities	478,041				506,809				478,041	506,809	447,334
Total assets	478,041				506,809				478,041	506,809	447,334
Toys R Us Segment [Member] | Toys R Us [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Income from partially owned entities									14,859	48,540	71,624
Other Segment [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Property rentals									89,287	90,960	87,087
Straight-line rent adjustments									858	2,542	3,796
Amortization of acquired below-market leases, net									5,696	5,018	5,657
Total rentals									95,841	98,520	96,540
Tenant expense reimbursements									7,329	9,894	10,310
Cleveland Medical Mart development project										0
BMS cleaning fees									(27,381)	(28,279)	(26,892)
Signage Revenue									0	0	0
Management and leasing fees									91	13	(651)
Lease termination fees									0	0	1,300
Other income									(105)	(262)	3,140
Total revenues									75,775	79,886	83,747
Operating expenses									17,244	17,603	17,627
Depreciation and amortization									42,249	42,651	45,632
General and administrative									102,051	101,302	108,510
Cleveland Medical Mart development project										0
Impairment losses, acquisition related costs and tenant buy-outs									17,386	5,925	36,958
Total expenses									178,930	167,481	208,727
Operating income									(103,155)	(87,595)	(124,980)
Income from partially owned entities									203,919	61,236	75
Income from real estate fund									63,936	22,886	(303)
Interest and other investment (loss) income, net									(265,328)	144,371	230,709
Interest and debt expense									(143,339)	(156,173)	(174,219)
Net gain on extinguishment of debt											(10,782)
Net gain on disposition of wholly owned and partially owned assets other than depreciable real estate									4,856	10,856	25,925
Income before income taxes									(239,111)	(4,419)	(53,575)
Income tax expense									(2,489)	(17,545)	(18,283)
Income from continuing operations									(241,600)	(21,964)	(71,858)
Income from discontinued operations									747	3,376	4,408
Net income									(240,853)	(18,588)	(67,450)
Consolidated subsidiaries									(31,692)	(11,981)	5,417
Operating Partnership									(35,327)	(41,059)	(44,033)
Preferred unit distributions of the Operating Partnership									(9,936)	(14,853)	(11,195)
Net income (loss) attributable to Vornado									(317,808)	(86,481)	(117,261)
Interest and debt expense (2)									181,912	201,251	215,463
Depreciation and amortization (2)									63,916	75,499	82,400
Income tax (benefit) expense (2)									5,458	(1,620)	18,775
EBITDA									(66,522)	188,649	199,377
Real estate at cost	1,625,311				1,607,356				1,625,311	1,607,356	1,597,390
Investments in partially owned entities	543,600				572,385				543,600	572,385	494,407
Total assets	3,338,268				3,684,911				3,338,268	3,684,911	4,559,338
Other Segment [Member] | All Equity Method Investees Excluding Toys [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Income from partially owned entities									$ 203,919	$ 61,236	$ 75