Learn Hardcore Czech: Na podzim je v našem městě méně turistů. - In autumn there are fewer tourists in our city.

So na podzim is just the standard fixed phrase meaning “in autumn.”
V podzimu is grammatically possible but would sound unusual or poetic; learners should stick to na podzim.

What case is podzim in, and why doesn’t it change form?

In na podzim, podzim is in the accusative singular.

The preposition na can govern either locative or accusative, depending on meaning.
With time expressions like na podzim, na jaře, it normally takes the accusative.

For masculine inanimate nouns like podzim, the nominative and accusative singular have the same form:

Nominative: podzim
Accusative: podzim

So you don’t see any visible case ending, but grammatically it’s accusative.

Why is it je and not jsou, since “tourists” is plural?

This is a common confusion. In Czech, when you say “there is / there are” with an amount or quantity, you often use je (singular) even if the thing is plural, especially with méně, více, hodně, málo etc.:

Je méně turistů. – There are fewer tourists.
Je hodně lidí. – There are many people.

Here, je doesn’t agree with turistů; it works more like an impersonal verb in an existential sentence (“there is/are”).

You can find sentences with jsou + plural, like:

Jsou tam turisté. – There are tourists there.

But once you bring in this “quantity” construction (méně turistů, více lidí, hodně aut), Czech very commonly switches to je.

What case is v našem městě, and why does it look like that?

V našem městě is in the locative singular.

město (city, town) is a neuter noun.
The preposition v (in) requires the locative to express location (being in a place, not movement into it).

Declension (neuter, singular):

Nominative: město
Locative: (o) městě

The possessive pronoun naše (our) also changes to match the case, number and gender of the noun:

Nominative neuter: naše město – our town
Locative neuter: v našem městě – in our town

So:

v
- našem (locative, neuter, singular) + městě (locative, neuter, singular)

Why is it méně turistů and not méně turisti or méně turisté?

After words expressing a quantity, Czech typically uses the genitive case, not nominative.

Common examples:

hodně lidí – many people
málo času – little time
více peněz – more money
méně turistů – fewer tourists

So turistů is the genitive plural of turista.

Nominative plural would be turisté, used when tourists are the subject:

Turisté přijeli. – The tourists arrived.

But after méně (less/fewer), you need genitive:

Je méně turistů. – There are fewer tourists.

So méně turisti / méně turisté is incorrect.

What’s the difference between méně and míň?

Both mean “less / fewer.”

méně – neutral, a bit more standard/formal, good in writing and careful speech.
míň – colloquial, very common in everyday spoken Czech.

In your sentence, both are possible:

Na podzim je v našem městě méně turistů. – neutral, textbook style.
Na podzim je v našem městě míň turistů. – more casual, spoken style.

For learning and writing, it’s safer to use méně; just be aware you’ll hear míň all the time.

Can I change the word order? For example: V našem městě je na podzim méně turistů?

Yes. Czech word order is more flexible than English; it’s used mainly to express emphasis and information structure, not grammar.

All of these are correct, but feel slightly different:

Na podzim je v našem městě méně turistů.
– Neutral focus on the time; “In autumn, there are fewer tourists in our town.”
V našem městě je na podzim méně turistů.
– Slightly more emphasis on the place; “In our town, in autumn, there are fewer tourists.”
Méně turistů je na podzim v našem městě.
– Unusual in isolation; could be used contrastively when stressing méně turistů (“fewer tourists” is the key part).

For normal, neutral usage, (1) and (2) are the most natural. Your original sentence is perfectly normal.

Why is turista masculine even though it ends in -a, and how do we get turistů?

Turista is one of a group of masculine animate nouns that end in -a (similar to kolega – colleague, předseda – chairman).

Their plural and cases behave like masculine, not like typical feminines:

Nominative singular: turista – a tourist (he)
Nominative plural: turisté – tourists
Genitive plural: turistů – (of) tourists

So in méně turistů, we’re using the genitive plural of a masculine animate noun, even though the singular form turista looks feminine.

Could I leave out na podzim or v našem městě? What changes?

Yes, both are removable; you just get a more general sentence.

Je méně turistů.
– There are fewer tourists. (No place or time specified.)
Na podzim je méně turistů.
– In autumn, there are fewer tourists. (No specific place.)
V našem městě je méně turistů.
– There are fewer tourists in our town. (No specific time.)

The full sentence:

Na podzim je v našem městě méně turistů.
– In autumn, there are fewer tourists in our town.

Each extra phrase just narrows down when and where.

How do you pronounce městě and méně, especially the ě?

Key points:

Stress: In Czech, stress is always on the first syllable.
- MĚS-tě
- MÉ-ně
The letter ě indicates that the preceding consonant is palatalized (pronounced “soft”).

mě is pronounced roughly like m-nye blended together, similar to how “m” and “ny” blend in “onion” (but shorter and cleaner).
- městě ≈ m-nye-ste (but with one syllable for mě).
ně is like nye:
- méně ≈ MEH-nye

So very roughly:

městě → “MYE-styeh”
méně → “MEH-nyeh”

But always with stress on the first syllable: MĚS-tě, MÉ-ně.