Tous les étés, nous allions dans le sud de la France.

Question

Why didn't we use '..nous allions au sud de la France'? When do we use 'au sud' and when do we use 'dans le sud'? Or 'au nord'/ 'dans le nord'?
https://www.lawlessfrench.com/vocabulary/directions/

Accepted Answer

Bonjour Aashpreet,
That's an excellent question!
"Aller" + au + [cardinal point] + de la France" means that you are go to the South of France (meaning you are going in France). If you use "dans le sud de la France" you mean to Southern France meaning you are located in France.
Je vais au Sud de la France 
-> to a location that is not in France
Je vais dans le sud de la France
 -> somewhere in Southern France
 
I hope this is helpful.
Bonne journée !

Answer

Oh that's really interesting!

So, to say - "Avignon est une ville située au sud de la France." [Avignon is a city situated to the south of France.]........means that the city is not in France??? And somewhere towards the south of France??