Marrickville is the gritty, industrial-edged heart of Sydney's Inner West, a former manufacturing district about seven kilometres southwest of the CBD that has reinvented itself without losing its rough edges. The warehouses that once turned out clothing and car parts now hold microbreweries, natural wine bars, artist studios and roasteries, and the suburb turns up regularly on global lists of the world's coolest neighbourhoods. It wears that reputation lightly — this is still a place of car workshops and Vietnamese grocers as much as craft beer.
It is the undisputed craft-beer capital of Sydney. Sydenham Road alone strings together several breweries within easy walking distance, and the "Marrickville mile" has become a weekend pilgrimage for drinkers working their way from tasting room to tasting room. The food is just as good and far cheaper than the inner city — Marrickville and the neighbouring streets hold some of the best Vietnamese cooking in the country, from banh mi counters to deep, slow-simmered pho.
Beyond the beer and the food, the appeal is the atmosphere: galleries in old factories, vintage and record shops, and a diverse, free-thinking community that has resisted the slickness creeping over much of inner Sydney. Illawarra Road and Marrickville Road are the main strips, both a short walk from Marrickville station on the T3 line.