I made the trip there the once, and never again.
As you say, 'shithole'.
To put it another way, it was 'European City of Culture' when I went... something that has also been awarded in the past to Glasgow and Liverpool, so I think that says it all really. ;-)
Alternatively I've landed in Calais and then driven to Le Touquet for a day trip a couple of times; notably warmer than Calais, palm trees and the like in abundance, and some half decent roads down to there too.
-- JackH