Montreal cherry blossoms and magnolias will soon bloom and this map can help you find them

It's that magical time of year when Montreal's barren trees begin sprouting buds that bloom into flowers, gradually turning the city into a colourful botanical paradise.

With the magnolias just starting to blossom and cherry blossoms expected in the coming weeks, you may be wondering where in the city you can see your favourite trees this spring.

Luckily, there's a map that can guide you straight to them — whether you're trying to visit the best cherry blossoms in town or check out a lesser known tree that's closer to your apartment (but just as beautiful).

The Quebec Centre for Biodiversity Science's Public Trees of Montreal map is a zoomable, interactive tool pinpointing the locations of more than 300,000 public trees, according to open data from the City of Montreal.

It allows you to search for different species of trees in 613 categories, which include 11 types of magnolia trees and 13 types of cherry trees. You can also use it to search for other popular spring florals, such as lilacs and crab apple trees.

Simply type your desired tree into the search bar, click the box beside it, hit "apply" and follow the treasure map to reap your rewards (i.e. directions to the city's most enchanting spots this time of year). You can also search for a specific location to see which trees are around a particular area.

Do keep in mind that since the map only shows public trees, it may leave out some top-tier flower-filled destinations. Trees may also be missing from the map because the boroughs in which they live are not performing georeferenced inventories of their public trees, making the data unavailable.

That being said, you can still definitely use this map to discover a hidden oasis or two.

While the most famous flowery hotspots are full of crowds and costs, this map leads you to neighbourhood gems so you can find stunning trees you never knew existed — even though they're right down the block.

This article's cover image was used for illustrative purposes only.