As you may know - or learn soon.. - Venice is built on several islands connected by bridges; the canals, and narrow streets (called "calli" in Italian), alleys (narrower streets or "callette"), and foreigners may find it difficult to navigate this net because of the unique naming system (only St.Mark's Square is a "piazza", the italian for "square": others are called "campi" and "campielli"!). Choosing the right map for such a complicated and unexpected city like Venice is one of the topics where a resident can be of less help than a tourists, someone who shares your same problems with in you in finding the way back to the hotel. So let's read what users have to say about the street maps of Venice. The Streetwise map of Venice "is a best deal for its price/size. You may find a deadend anyway in Venice anyway: but this is part of the adventure! Don't loose your heart! This naming is unique in Italy, the map is thin and with a water resistent coat, and people are.. helpful! Warning: this map only covers the very center of the city; does not include Giudecca and Lido islands.
Here instead we have a fan of Rough Guide Maps and National Geographic Maps: "If you are going to be hunting down specific addresses or leaving the beaten path, the Rough Guide is a must-have. If you can afford two maps, take the National Geographic map for strategy and the Rough Guide for tactics, and you'll be delighted. If you like taking non-standard routes between well-known places, if you do not stick to the main walkways between the most important tourist spots (the Accademia Bridge, the Rialto Bridge, and San Marco square) but you have the time and curiosity to walk all over the city, this should be your map. the Rough Guide map was the most useful map I took to Venice. It's printed on waterproof plastic, which is useful in the drizzle. It never tore. It was easy enough to fold the map in such a way that it was convenient to carry and still showed the area I was walking through. I found the Rough Guide was always correct when I was in need".
The Rough Guide map is larger than the other maps, which makes it harder to use if you want a "big-picture" view of the city while walking. On the other hand, the Rough Guide map is larger than the other maps, which means you can read it better than others. Easy enough to fold, so size is no problem". See http://www.veniceword.com/mapsofvenice.html for more