The transition to turbulence of the flow around a circular cylinder is studied by a three-dimensional numerical simulation of the Navier–Stokes equations system in the Reynolds number range 100–300. The numerical method is second-order accurate in space and time and Neumann boundary conditions are used at the two boundaries in the spanwise direction; non-reflecting boundary conditions are specified for the outlet downstream boundary. This study predicts the frequency modulation and the formation of a discontinuity region delimited by two frequency steps within the present Reynolds number range. These features are related to the birth of streamwise vorticity and to the kinetic energy distribution in the near wake. The development of the mean dynamic quantities, the Reynolds stress correlations and the variation of their maximum values are provided in this region, where the similarity laws do not hold. The spatial evolution of the von Kármán mode and of its spectral amplitude are quantified and the variation laws of the maximum spectral amplitude and of its location as a function of Reynolds number are established. The critical Reynolds number for the appearance of the first discontinuity in the present flow system is evaluated by the fully nonlinear approach.