Street maps anywhere to buy??

Venice, Florence and Rome are very easy to get in the train stations - each one has news stands and bookstores where there will be many to pick from.

For Connecticut I'm not sure. There may be somewhere in Smithtown that would have one.

For Venice it's almost impossible to follow a map. Learn where Rialto, San Marco, and Piazzale Roma are and then follow the Big Painted letters and arrows on the side of the buildings pointing you to "Per Rialto" and "Per San Marco" and that's how you navigate in Venice.

I find it impossible to navigate Venice WITHOUT a map. :-) But it helps to have a compass as well.

If you're staying in hotels, they will have a free map to give you.

You might be able to find Streetwise maps for Rome, Forence and Venice at your local bookstore. I like them because they are laminated and nearly indestructible.

When I was in Italy last fall, including all the cities you mention, I went loaded with maps. I found I rarely used those, but ended up depending a lot on the paper maps provided free by my hotels, which often have a tear-off pad of them at the counter, perhaps with a big star at the location of the hotel. I could fold these up however I needed, to fit in a pocket or focus on a certain part of town, and if they got wet or worn, I just grabbed another when back at the hotel. As long as you can find your hotel when you first arrive in a city, I wouldn't worry about the rest.
By the way, especially in Venice, even local people couldn't help you when you asked about a street address. What you need to know is the closest "campo" or "piazza" or some nearby landmark. "Scusi signora, per Campo xxxx?" They can help get you going in that direction. But, especially in Venice, be prepared for streets that don't continue, or needing to cross a canal with no bridge in sight, etc. It's all wonderful, unless you're in a hurry to get to a particular place at a particular time. For those, give yourself some extra time.

I am with Larry using the maps from the hotel. Take two each day. They are on cheap paper and may not last the full day of folding and unfolding. I like them because we can mark them us with a highlighter, or cut them up as need. If I am only going to be in limited area then that is the only part of the map I take. The big laminated maps are just that - big and laminated. In someways I find the paper maps to be more accurate. And - many times local commercial facilities - McDonalds, etc., will be highlighter on the map and this will help get reoriented if I get lost. Also McDonalds are always great for restrooms and internet.

Also the TI will have lots of maps - some free and some for purchase.

I use Street Maps To Go on my IPad. It is a free app. You down load the maps. Works great.

hi
some maps are available as pdfs and can be downloaded onto your ipad or nexus or printed before you leave.
Google maps is helpful and you can also print these out.
For Rome, I found the ATAC site provided pdf map of the centre with the added bonus of having the bus route numbers.
paste the following

http://www.atac.roma.it/files/doc.asp?r=383
is the centre map.
the home page is http://www.atac.roma.it
english version is http://www.atac.roma.it/?lingua=ENG
in the middle of that will be several icons , one will direct you to the pdf map listing.
The bookstore at the bus exit at Termini had street maps of rome, florence, venice etc etc for sale. Plasticized paper.
regards

Also with the maps from the hotels, say your doing a daytrip to a place and don't have a room in that city, you can pop into any hotel and ask for a tourist map. Did it all the time and nobody ever refused to give me one.

I went to Venice, Florence, Rome, with nice Street Wise maps of each city. Left them in hotel room and just used the hotel maps everyday, wadded up and threw away at end of the trip.

Before my wife and I left for Italy and Greece, I downloaded two apps on my Android phone. Map of Italy and Map of Greece.. Both have downloadable maps of every city in each country for use when your not connected to the internet. Both come with GPS mapping and navigation that work, even when you are in airplane mode on your phone. Both have bookmarking functions as well as search functions for places, streets, etc. It was so Great to have in Italy and Greece. With the app running and not using any of my phone service, I could see where I was on the map and where I was heading. Click on where am I button, and a Blue arrow shows you your current position . I would bookmark all our hotels, train stations, airports, museums, then simply press locate and then follow the arrow to the location. They even come with voice commands so you can hear which way to go! We never bought a map as these apps worked so well. If you get lost, just type in the name of the street and the cross street and then zoom out once the GPS finds you.. Really helped us in Venice with all those crazy streets! You can find them on the Market app in Android

In Florence, the best maps are free at the TI across the street from the train station. Go out through the front (straight ahead with your back to the train tracks) and cross the expanse. The entrance to the TI is in front of you if you've crossed at the lights.

I paid €2 or €3 for a good map of Venice which I never used. It was large (cumbersome) and as others already said, not much help, especially without a good compass. The good news is it's pleasant wandering the back canals and Venice is so small you eventually end up somewhere familiar.