Every urban travel experience is different, but the world's biggest cities share some common traits. Although it's true that big cities generally are more expensive to visit than less populous urban areas, you'll can find opportunities for savings if you know where to look. For example, big cities frequently offer you and your travel party safe, swift and inexpensive rides to the airport via mass transit options that aren't available in smaller towns. Take a look at a step by step approach to saving money on urban travel. These pictures and tips were captured in St. Louis, but they can be applied to any large city in the world.
I’d like to add to your suggestion, “Go with Opaque Pricing for Hotel Rooms”. We completely agree that sometimes you can stay in a comfortable downtown hotel for a fraction of the published rate, and we sometimes take advantage of these online deals.
But we also sometimes look for a neighborhood spot that still has restaurants and shops within walking distance, but has more originality than a chain downtown hotel. When we find one of these places, or when someone nominates one for us, we publish a review on our site, Darn Good Digs.
http://www.darngooddigs.com – a guide to best locally owned hotels for budget-minded travelers